Mysteria
by Liria Nai
Summary: Days after the DOM a mysterious letter arrives and Harry is faced with a decision. Reject the offer and continue on the path Dumbledore has set for him or forge a new one and challenge every opinion ever forced on him. SLASH. Creature/grey/powerful Harry.
1. Chapter 1

_**Summary**…Just days after the DOM a mysterious letter arrives and Harry is faced with a decision. Reject the offer and continue on the path Dumbledore has set for him or forge a new one and challenge every opinion ever forced on him. _

**SLASH. Creature fic, new school, Grey/Powerful Harry… Oh if anything warning worthy develops I will put the warning in the authors note. I'll also try to highlight it in the text. K?**

_A/N…Heyla and welcome to my new fic. Right as stated in the summary this is **SLASH** so if you don't like it don't read it._

_Ok the pairing is up in the air right now. It will be Harry/male as I don't write Het. But as for the specific who, I remain undecided. So I will say right now that I am leaving it up to the readers. Any male character is eligible for the pairing, OC or CANON it doesn't matter so let me know who you think should end up with Harry._

_Anyway on to the story. _

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_**Mysteria**_

_Prologue_

* * *

**KNOWLEDGE IS POWER BUT INSTINCT IS SURVIVAL**

Dear Mr Potter

It is with sincerest congratulations that we inform you of your eligibility for a place at our school, **_Mysteria, Academy of Magic_**.

It is believed that prior correspondence sent to you last week did not arrive due to certain wards your location had in place. We wish to apologise to you for this delay and would like to reiterate our offer of a place at our school.

This offer is being made to you based on the aptitude you have shown in a wide variety of subjects. Places are offered based on potential rather than current grades, as we find that often some of the most competent students are underachieving due to the teaching methods in place at their current school. All learners are different and there are a variety of training methods, not widely employed, which may be better suited to your nature.

We specialize in offering a wide array of courses that via the use of several intrinsic time spells can all be completed within the years of study remaining to you before and after your majority in two years time. Initially our students will remain with us for the next three years (including what would be school holidays at other institutions) however if in some way you develop a particular skill to the level required by a Master said Master may take you on as an Apprentice to further your education. Apprentices study for a further two years with their respective Masters, the Master in question makes the decision on what is learnt and in what time frame.

This offer is a once in a lifetime opportunity and will not be made again. I can assure you that this is a legitimate offer and that if you were to check your school library you would find several vague references to our school, but no discernable information revealing our whereabouts or secrets. If you accept this offer one of our Professors will collect you from your place of residence on the 1st of August. You will be taken to purchase your school supplies before being taken to the school. If you do not accept the place you will receive no further contact from this establishment.

Unfortunately due to the necessary secrecy of our situation we can give you no further information on our school unless you accept a place. If you refuse your place a representative will come and place several permanent spells on you so that you will not be able to reveal any of the information given to you. You will still retain the knowledge that you were offered a place but that is all. You will also find you are unable to talk about this letter with anyone. We hope you understand that this is for our safety and the safety of our students.

Hoping to see you on the first day of term.

Yours

Amika Calfora

Headmistress

**_Mysteria Academy_**

* * *

Harry had read the letter over and over again since he had received it the day before. It was almost too perfect, the timing and the offer itself. Since losing Sirius he had wished for an escape, a way to get away from his friends and their sympathetic looks and constant questions. But was this another trick of Voldemorts?

He didn't think so. He'd been searching through library books for the past few hours since receiving the letter while out visiting Hogsmeade. He'd found many references to the word _Mysteria._ It was usually associated with great witches and wizards, in particular those noted for their balanced natures. Meaning their use of both light and dark magic and the changes they had made to both the Wizarding world and the Muggle world.

There was never any mention of the word actually being the name of a school, it had been speculated for centuries what effect the word actually had on a witch or wizard. Some believed that the word itself had power and that its application gave the witch or wizard their knowledge and skills. The word itself was in the book Magical Mysteries: That Have Spanned Time. Still others believed that the word _Mysteria_which was similar to hysteria was a state of mind that only the powerful could achieve.

The only other clue he had to go on was the schools motto written around its crest, a full moon pierced by a larger crescent moon that curved to the right with the words themselves forming a half circle on the left hand side. The words "_Knowledge is power but instinct is survival._" had appeared several times, most notably in _Quotes of the powerful witch or wizard_.

It was obvious that the school had a great reputation for turning out powerful individuals and did so without the knowledge of the Ministry. The letter hadn't said this, but it was obvious to Harry as the Ministry couldn't keep any type of secret.

Rather more worryingly there were several cases of death associated with the school, the explanations for the deaths were a few simple words that appeared on a piece of paper with the corpse, the words were "_Failed to attain **Mysteria**_". But when Harry thought about this it made sense, if they were working to a higher level of magic then there would obviously be accidents. He wasn't too worried about that. And he wasn't worried about this all being a trick anymore. What he was unsure of was his choice.

Should he go or shouldn't he? Tomorrow he would be returning to the Dursley's for the summer. Did he really want to go back there and then go on to a new school? He had always considered Hogwarts to be his home. Could it still be that even if he didn't finish his education there?

Could he leave his friends? Probably, he wasn't angry with his friends or anything, he'd just reached a point where he realized that no matter what happened he would never feel like he belonged with them anymore. After the Department of Mysteries and Dumbledore's revelation a wall had seemed to spring up between him and them. He'd always felt like the older one, but now when they all joked around and acted the teenagers they all were he never felt like joining in anymore. The DoM had made him into an adult, it hadn't done that for his friends maybe with the exception of Neville, it had just made them more conscious of the dwindling amount of time they still had left to be kids and act like it.

Making a decision Harry took out a piece of parchment and a quill. And wrote a quick "_I Accept_", signed his name and went straight up to the Owlery to post it before he could change his mind.

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A/N…Well guys there you go, was it any good?


	2. Chapter 2

_**Summary**…Just days after the DOM a mysterious letter arrives and Harry is faced with a decision. Reject the offer and continue on the path Dumbledore has set for him or forge a new one and challenge every opinion ever forced on him. _

**SLASH. Creature fic, new school, Grey/Powerful Harry… Oh if anything warning worthy develops I will put the warning in the authors note. I'll also try to highlight it in the text. K?**

_A/N…Right as stated in the summary this is **SLASH** so i would hope that anyone whose got to this point has got that by now, so remember if you don't_ _like it don't read it._

_I just have to say i am amazed at the response i've gotten so far for this story. 75 alerts, 16 favs and 25 reviews. I think thats brilliant for a first chapter. Sorry I havent mentioned anybody here, i'm going to try and reply to everyones review directly instead of in the chapter. The only time i'll put a reply in the chapter is when it addresses something that I think needs explaining._

_**Pairing news...**So far i have had several votes for some canon males and even a few for oc's. Its still wide open thought one person is in front by one vote so at the moment he's the favorite. At the moment i'm not sure whether i'll just use the one with the most votes or whether i'll create a poll a bit further into the story when i've introduced some oc's. Anyway keep nominating and now onto the chapter. _

p.s. I'm sorry about the short chapter last time but no matter what i do i cant seem to write longer prologues. I actually think this one is my longest so far. But the chapters will definitely be getting longer from this point onwards.

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_**Mysteria**_

_Chapter One_

Harry Potter received another letter from the school a couple of days into the summer holidays. This one telling him how pleased they were that he had accepted his place. It also included a load of information and a list of possible subjects for him to choose between. He had until the day he left to decide what he wanted to take. As the school was quite exclusive a Professor would be calling for him and taking him shopping for his supplies before apparating him to the school.

* * *

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER BUT INSTINCT IS SURVIVAL

**For New Students**

Students should note that Mysteria offers a wide variety of courses. Baring the subjects listed as two year courses all subjects can be taken at anytime during the three year period.

Learning occurs throughout the year, including the dates considered school holidays by other facilities. All students will remain on school grounds at all times. Holidays will be given to any and all deserving students. This is necessary as at this moment in your life your magic is more malleable and your mind is still able to retain information with any modicum of efficiency. It is usually at this point that all decisions on the future will be made whether conscious or subconscious. That is why we like to provide a wide variety of choice.

It is preferable for students to choose the subjects they want to study now. By forming a plan the school can better organise your situation, although Second year and Third year subjects may be changed within reason. There are several subjects that can only be taken after a basic knowledge in another subject has been achieved, so arrange your lessons accordingly. Other subjects require some evidence of talent which will be tested for prior to lessons.

All students should be aware that the lengths of courses are dependent on the student's skill and not usually upon a fixed time table. In most cases courses do last their allotted time but some students may find that they learn at a more accelerated rate and the course may run shorter for them because of this. Please note that those who fail to complete the course by the end of the designated time will not graduate the class.

All learning will be based on the methods that the individual responds best to. In some cases there will be classes of less than ten and in others, one on one instruction.

To anybody who wishes to complain about our methods know this, Mysteria does not coddle you. If you wish for an easy life then remain where you are.

All students should be prepared to be picked up at eight o'clock on the morning of August the 1st.

**For Returning Students (2nd years) and Final Years (3rd years) **

Second years your subjects will be the same as those agreed on in your first year. If you wish to change or remove a subject from your list please reply to this letter immediately and a decision will be made upon your reasoning, i.e. a change in career goals or new found knowledge preventing the study of a particular subject.

Third years, that which is written above is also applicable to you. At the end of third year it is possible that one or more of you may be offered a two year Apprenticeship. At the end of the year your Mentor will inform you of any possible offers.

It is wise to remember though that even if you have a love or talent for a subject that still may not be enough to guarantee you an apprenticeship. Masters are very selective over their choices and most do not take on apprentices at all. It is also wise to note that in some cases apprenticeships may last longer than two years. This often happens in the higher disciplines, especially if the apprentice struggles with the material. The pace the Master sets and the rate at which the apprentice learns may affect the amount of time necessary for study. Acceptance should not be made on the assumption that in two years it will all be over and you will have gained another qualification. It does not work that way.

Students that are accepted into Apprenticeships no longer have the option of choice; their life is from then on decided by their Master. For that period of your life nothing will be studied that is not approved by your Master. If you have received an offer then be objective in your decision, ask the Master for any details that they may give you about the subject in question. Do not leap into the decision as once you accept it is done.

Many of the orders to which the Master's belong do not allow their secrets out to just anyone. If you decide to stop learning or can no longer be taught the subject then all knowledge will be removed from your mind and you will have nothing to show for that time of your life. Some orders will even demand that the Apprentice is killed rather than risk exposure to their techniques. Think very carefully on this before setting it as a goal.

Apprentices will receive their instructions from their Masters during the initiation day. Apprentices should also be aware that it is possible for a Master to allow an Apprentice to take further classes in other subjects if it does not interfere with their own teachings.

Just remember to ask first.

**List of Subjects**

**All Year's Mandatory Subjects**

Transfiguration,

Charms,

Defence Against the Dark Arts,

Potions,

The Dark Arts,

Herbology,

Healing,

Natural Magic,

(All years please note that all of the above subjects are three year courses, with the exception of Natural Magic which is only taken during first year).

**Optional Courses**

Blood Magic

Curses (Invention of) (2 year course)

Rituals,

Defensive Magic,

Offensive Magic, (1) (_Can only be taken once Defensive Magic has been completed)_

Runes,

Wizarding and Muggle Culture

Creature Behaviour (_humanoid and animal),_

Essence/Spirit Magic (1)

Elemental Magic/Control, (1)

Transformations, (1)

Spell Casting (_via wand, thought, gesture, will), (2 year course)_

Arithmancy,

Astronomy,

Spell Crafting, _(2 year course) (Prior study of Runes or concurrent study of Runes is necessary_)

Numerology,

Domestic Spells,

Creatures in Wizarding Society,

History of Magic,

Sex Magic, (_Please note: Can only be taken in third year_)

Conjuring, (1)

Necromancy, (1)_ (2 year course) __(Some experience of Blood Magic and Rituals is essential)_

Druidism,

Divination/Speech via Astral Plains, (1)

Special Studies _(Flight, Aura Reading, Invisibility, Parcel-Magic, ETC...)_

Transportation via will, _(apparition, shadows or spiritual),_

Magical Creature Breeding,

Celtic Magic,

Wizarding International Cultures,

Wizarding Politics,

Pureblood Etiquette,

Occlumency and Legilimency, (1)

Strategy,

Magical Portrait Making

Soul Magic,

Wand Creation,

(1)...these subjects are dependent on the ability being present in the students themselves. This will be tested for prior to lessons.

_Students should also note that instruction in both Duelling and Survival Skills is available at any time. The student is subject to the will of the instructor and may be required for extra training. Please note, if you quit the instruction you will not be accepted back. The Duelling and Survival Skills course takes place in the morning prior to breakfast and in the afternoon proceeding lessons but prior to dinner. Extra lessons may be given in free periods upon request._

**All students should also take into account that only the Mandatory courses offered (Baring Natural Magic and The Dark Arts) have final qualifications recognised by the British Ministry of Magic, I.e. NEWTs, Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests.**

Yours

Daran Costara

Deputy Headmaster

**_Mysteria Academy_**

* * *

He finished the scroll; the school definitely gave a lot more information out than Hogwarts did. He didn't know if he'd actually be able to remember it all.

If he understood it right, in first year they would be taking eight mandatory subjects. But in second and third year they would only take seven. So if that was the case it would make more sense to take more new subjects in his second and third years than in his first. He got out a roll of parchment and listed all the courses he was interested in before setting out to assign them to one of the three years of schooling. He did agree with the Deputy Head's idea of getting everyone's basic course ideas for all three years now, it probably saved the teachers a whole lot of work. Especially with some of the teachers having to teach Apprentices as well as students.

There were over twenty subjects that he wanted to take!

But he couldn't take all of them he'd die of exhaustion. So he thinned the list out a little more. For some reason he didn't find thinning out the list to be all that hard. Whenever he read a name he seemed to know instinctively whether to place it on his to do list or on the reject list. Weird.

In the end he decided on taking six extra subjects his first and third years but seven in his second. It was a lot but he'd rather learn everything he could in his three years than go home with just the knowledge he would have gained at Hogwarts. Besides he may not be able to take some of the subjects due to not having the gift. He glanced over the parchment again, just to make sure he hadn't made a mistake with his selections...

* * *

**First year**

**Mandatory**

1. Transfiguration,

2. Charms,

3. Defence Against the Dark Arts,

4. Potions,

5. The Dark Arts,

6. Herbology,

7. Healing,

8. Natural Magic

**Optional**

1. Blood Magic,

2. Invention of Curses,

3. Rituals,

4. Spell Casting,

5. Transportation via will (apparition, shadows or spiritual),

6. Occlumency and Legilimency.

**Second year**

**Mandatory**

1. Transfiguration,

2. Charms,

3. Defence Against the Dark Arts,

4. Potions,

5. The Dark Arts,

6. Herbology,

7. Healing,

**Optional**

1. Necromancy

2. Invention of Curses,

3. Runes,

4. Spell Casting,

5. Spell Crafting,

6. Essence/Spirit Magic,

7. Defensive Magic,

**Third year**

**Mandatory**

1. Transfiguration,

2. Charms,

3. Defence Against the Dark Arts,

4. Potions,

5. The Dark Arts,

6. Herbology,

7. Healing,

**Optional**

1. Necromancy

2. Sex Magic,

3. Spell Crafting

4. Transformations.

5. Elemental Magic/Control,

6. Offensive Magic,

**_Harry James Potter_**

* * *

So with the eight mandatory courses Harry was taking a total of fourteen subjects in his first year. He was taking: Blood Magic, Invention of Curses, Rituals, Spell Casting, Transportation and Occlumency and Legilimency. He didn't really want to take Occlumency and Legilimency but he wasn't stupid enough not to take it. He may not like it but refusing to learn it had cost Sirius his life. No one else would die because he couldn't learn something. He was going to work hard and master everything he could. He'd already started re-reading his school books from his last five years at school. He was intending to finish revising them before he got to his new school. He didn't want to feel like an idiot in a school that seemed to be harder than Hogwarts. He'd also decided to sign up for Dueling and Survival Skills, it seemed stupid not to.

He knew he'd picked a lot of subjects, but he was fairly confident that he could do it. What with the assurances that learning would be suited to the individual's own strengths. He also hadn't missed the bit about intrinsic time spells in the first letter and wondered whether that would help him with his learning.

He had wanted to take transformations as one of the subjects covered was animagus transformations but had decided against taking it in his first year; the Marauders had shown that he could learn it on his own if he wanted to. So if he didn't complete it by the end of his third year he could always carry on studying. The only subject that he hadn't really wanted to take was Rituals, but it seemed if he wanted to take Necromancy in second year he had to take that now. Then again he could drop it if he didn't have Necromancy talent. But if not he only had to put up with it for a year.

He'd also thought that he might take Special Studies but was unsure at the moment. He wanted to ask the teacher who came for him about it first. He wanted to know whether all of the subjects listed were taken or just the ones a student wanted to learn. If so he definitely wanted to take Parcel-Magi.

Flight, Invisibility and Aura Reading sounded cool though so he might take them as well but he wasn't too fussed. So that was a possible, especially if he had to drop one or more of his choices.

Either way it had taken him a few days to come to his final decision. The only thing that was stopping him from taking more courses was the fact that it certainly would kill him if he did. One thing he wasn't interested in taking was Divination, he'd had enough Divination to last him a life time. But he was curious about the Speech via Astral Plains that seemed to go with it. What was that exactly?

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It would be his birthday in ten minutes, he would be sixteen. The age at which a wizard/witch is supposed to be given an increase in magic and any extra little gifts the family tree might contain. The power boost was supposed to be in preparation for the coming of age at eighteen when a person's true power level was unlocked. Why it was eighteen and not seventeen he didn't know, it just was.

He had already looked up his family in the Wizarding Genealogy book Hermione was always raving about. The Potter family being pureblood had at some point or other bred with several magical creature races, some unknown and some known. As with any pureblood family there were hints of Demon and Veela bloods, as well as Vampires and Werewolves (although the last was classified as an affliction, not as a full blooded creature, which was really stupid in his opinion as Werewolves could breed if they weren't regulated).

The unknown ones were more difficult. There were cases of family members sprouting whip-like tails when in a rage or singing in beautiful unearthly voices. Other problems were the inbreeding of the purebloods. Whilst his Father had married a muggleborn, the entire family beyond that had only married into other pureblood families. This created problems because he could have inherited any of their creature bloods or genetic quirks.

Who knew?

Either way it would be his birthday in a moment and he was expecting a lot of pain. Ron had gone through his and had said it was like being hit with a two foot tall bludger. At a minute before twelve he got into bed, mentally trying to prepare himself for the pain.

The clock struck midnight and nothing happened. He was a little surprised but not too worried as delayed reactions were quite common. He was sat on his bed looking out the open window, waiting for the usual birthday owls to arrive. They came through the window one by one and waited patiently for him to remove their burdens before flying out the window again or in Hedwig's case to her perch for a sleep. The one exception to this was of course, Pig or Pigwidgeon, Ron's owl who had a quite excitable temperament and was flying around Harry's head like a drunken tennis ball. Harry was of course sane enough to know that a drunken tennis ball wasn't even slightly possible but the description fit the minute owl perfectly.

He had just put all of his presents and letters on the bedside table for him to open in the morning when the first twinges of pain started. He quickly closed the window and got into bed. After that first initial twinge he felt nothing else for a good five minutes.

His confusion quickly gave way to a look of absolute agony. Thankfully this didn't last long before he blissfully blacked out. In fact in reality it was barely more than a second but it lasted longer to Harry.

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So what did you think?


	3. Chapter 3

_**Summary**…Just days after the DOM a mysterious letter arrives and Harry is faced with a decision. Reject the offer and continue on the path Dumbledore has set for him or forge a new one and challenge every opinion ever forced on him. _

**SLASH. Creature fic, new school, Grey/Powerful Harry… Oh if anything warning worthy develops I will put the warning in the authors note. I'll also try to highlight it in the text. K?**

_A/N…Right as stated in the summary this is **SLASH** so i would hope that anyone whose got to this point has got that by now, so remember if you don't_ _like it don't read it. **HBP **spoliers, but I think most people will have read that by now, so just in case._

_Sorry I havent mentioned anybody here, i'm going to try and reply to everyones review directly instead of in the chapter. The only time i'll put a reply in the chapter is when it addresses something that I think needs explaining._

_**Pairing news...**So far i have had several votes for some canon males and even a few for oc's. Its still wide open though one person is in front by one vote so at the moment he's the favorite. At the moment i'm not sure whether i'll just use the one with the most votes or whether i'll create a poll a bit further into the story when i've introduced some oc's. Anyway keep nominating and now onto the chapter. _

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_**Mysteria**_

**_Chapter Two_**

Harry Potter awoke the next morning, early if he was any judge, to the insistent tap tap tapping on his window pane. Putting his hand to his head and rubbing it, he looked beneath it and saw a small but vicious looking bird watching him impatiently from what must have been a torrential down pour.

Wincing both in sympathy for the bird and himself he hobbled over to the window, threw it open and had an armful of wet bird blown in by the wind. Putting what he now realised to be a giant Raven down; its talons scrabbling a bit on the smooth wood of the dresser, Harry Potter closed the window. By the time he turned around the Raven was no longer a Raven but a very wet and indignant man. He was tall, easily as tall as Snape, he had pale skin, but more opalescent than ghastly. His eyes were a hazel brown and his hair was dyed a deep blood red. He wore a gold piercing in his right ear, a kind of twisted hoop. He had a little bit of hair on his upper lip, Harry didn't know whether it was supposed to be a moustache or he'd just missed it when shaving.

The man was looking at him angrily, he was definitely intimidating. I wonder what subject he teaches. Harry thought. Probably Blood Magic or Potions, likely potions as it was probably a prerequisite for the job to have an intimidating teacher.

"You were told in your letter to be ready for eight am; I am assuming you cannot follow simple instructions." The man snapped, reminding Harry forcibly of Snape.

"Well, excuse me sir, but I did just go through my inheritance last night. If I kept you out in the rain for a few minutes I am sorry, but it seemed my body needed to recover."

The angry expression dissolved from the man's face immediately.

"You went through the change!" he said incredulously, with a slight dumbfounded look that was definitely un-Snape like. "How are you walking?"

"Er what?" Harry asked completely confused.

The man chuckled slightly. And gestured for Harry to take a seat at the desk since it was directly behind him. After muttering the incantation for a quick drying charm he also sat down but on Harry's bed so that he and Harry could be face to face.

"The night of a wizard's inheritance or their sixteenth birthday is a rite of passage, magically speaking. At this time part of the wizard's full magical potential is unlocked in preparation for the larger release on the eighteenth. This in itself is extremely painful. But add to this the fact that the magic housed within the body needs a flawless host until fully settled, then the pain can reach unmanageable heights. The magic already existing in the body seeks to heal the body of any weaknesses, injuries or impurities while the new magic is unlocked. When this is done hormones trigger the release of the magic, which is like a tidal wave spreading through the body hitting all of the points at which the healing was done. As it was not a controlled healing done by somebody already trained but by instinctive magic, the healed areas are still tender and the magic pressure causes continual shock waves until the new magic is settled enough to bring the body back under control. So by rights you shouldn't even be talking to me right now. Not only is it painful but physically draining as well."

Harry just stared at him, his own dumbfounded expression making its appearance now.

"But…"

"You should be deep in an exhausted sleep right now and if forced to wake like in this case you should be in severe pain and complaining about it like any normal person. Unless you have led an extremely sheltered and pampered life and had no injuries to heal…" he glanced around the room. "Judging by this, that is not the case, so then you have led a pain filled life that has systematically lessened your responses to any type of pain over the years. To you what you would be feeling is only a slight physical discomfort."

Though not phrased as such Harry took that last sentence as a question. "Er yeh, it's nothing, just a light ache."

The man nodded. "I thought so. I had wondered why I was sent to you Mr Potter. I thought one of my colleagues who are so much more powerful than I, would be given the honour. It appears we had a similar life you and me." He smiled then and held out his hand, Harry took it. "It may not be much to you, but what you have endured will lessen in time. The hold they have had on you is broken from this point onwards. The school is your guardian now; we release guardianship at the end of your eighteenth year. From there you go where you will. I consider it a privilege to be tutoring you in these years Mr Potter. I am Silay, Curse Master and I look forward to mentoring you into Manhood." He shook his hand.

"Mentoring me?" Harry asked. Fighting not to grin, the man's own was infectious.

"Yes." He said releasing Harry's hand and regarding him through remarkably perceptive eyes. He wasn't old, maybe thirty, maybe younger. "At the academy every student answers to a mentor. As there are Professors for every subject there are over forty five teachers. We also employ others of good natures as mentors, teaching assistants and the like. There are also some extra Professors who work on a part time basis; these are employed only when a subject is needed for a specific creature. Making the number of staff over seventy in total, close to ninety I believe. Each of them looks after just one student. Well, unless they have an Apprentice then they have two but in most cases the student in question becomes their Mentor's Apprentice at the end of their third year."

"Oh ok." Harry said feeling rather overwhelmed. They didn't get that sort of attention in Hogwarts, he wasn't sure yet whether it was a good idea but Silay seemed ok.

"Right then, well first things first. Have you decided what subjects you are taking yet?"

Harry showed him his list. Silay smiled approvingly. "Very well, good choices. I am glad you will be taking my subject. I find it quite fascinating and am sure you will also. I think the intricacies will appeal to you. And you want to take Duelling and Survival Skills as well I see. Good, now do you have any questions?"

"Yes, I was wondering about the Special Studies?"

"Ah yes, it's a good course to take if it interests you. The ones listed were just some of the options as there are sometimes individual traits in a person that might need to be trained. In your case the Parcel-Magic isn't a necessary course, it isn't life or death but to a vampire Muggle Studies might be a necessity, as they need to blend in with their societies to hunt. If you really do wish to learn them then it may be necessary to give up some of your spare time during holidays as due to your rather full schedule there is no other spot open to you. If you really want to learn then we don't see why you can't give up a little of your spare time. Though you have to remain at school during holidays you will still have weeks of free time, you can give a little of it up. They do offer some things for you to do of course and you don't even get homework. You may not get the same length holidays as you did at your other school but it is still lengthy. It's up to you whether you take the extra lessons offered or not. After all you will be staying at the school year round and can always take them in a later year."

"Ok, um we don't even get homework?"

Silay grinned. "Not during the holidays no, it's supposed to be a holiday so why should you work."

Harry did grin this time, how could he not, no homework in the holidays! Hhhmmm, he wondered if they still had to do duelling in the holidays?

"You are expected to keep up with your learning independently though. Speaking for myself as a teacher any student who forgets what they've learned after a break will be treated to an intensive catch up."

Harry grinned, understanding the hint Silay was sending him.

"Very good." Silay said as he finished jotting Harry's subjects down on a list that Harry hadn't even noticed he was making until now, with his other hand he handed Harry back his original copy. At Harry's enquiring glance Silay smirked as he rolled up his parchment. "Subterfuge, immensely useful, you'll learn that in Survival skills."

"Survival Skills really?"

"Oh yes, it's just another form of surviving isn't it. Acting inconspicuous, making yourself seem unimportant and unthreatening. It makes people overlook a lot, believe me."

"Wow." He liked the sound of his new school even more.

"Ok so we've finished with our subjects list. I must say you're quite sensible, so many people think if they run themselves ragged now they can have an easy year next year. But they always find they should have spaced out their lessons a little more. It's easy to get killed if you're exhausted. Then again some people don't take any of the extra subjects believing that they take enough with the mandatory subjects which in my opinion is a waste of a good opportunity." He smirked a little evilly. "And it definitely puts them at a disadvantage..."

Okay, Harry was starting to believe that it was definitely better to be called a 'Know It All' or 'Teacher's Pet' at this school than end up dead. Hermione would probably do well, then again having your head stuck in a book all day might get you killed as easily as being unprepared.

"Now there is the matter of familiars…"

"They are allowed aren't they?" Harry asked interrupting.

"They are yes, but they need to be registered. So that if there are any problems we know who to come to so that we can get it sorted out. Your familiar is your responsibility, no one else's."

"Well there's Hedwig, my Snowy Owl." He said pointing to the curious owl watching them from her perch.

"I've seen her, she really is quite exquisite. Any others?" He asked again making a note on his parchment.

"Others, you mean I can have more than one?"

"Of course, no more than three though."

"Well I haven't got any others at the moment, but I have always wanted a snake. I can speak parseltongue you see and I'd like something that can talk to me back."

"Understandable, I have to send off all of this information no later than twelve, so if you want we can try to find you a snake familiar when we go shopping. You may find you have an affinity with many creatures now and the choice of whom to accept may be difficult."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked a little curious.

Silay gave him an odd look. "Um have you not looked in the mirror this morning?"

"No I didn't have time, why?"

"Then maybe you should."

Harry sighed. "I've become a creature haven't I? If anything odd can happen it will always happen to me."

"Don't worry, it's not really noticeable; it's just that I'm trained to notice these things."

Harry ran over to the mirror, for the first time realising he was wearing nothing but a pair of sleeping pants, but ignored it. He'd been sat there for a good half an hour, being self-conscious now would just be a waste of time.

He looked in the jagged piece of broken mirror hung on his wall and stared at the reflection there.

He had changed, he knew that he could but he hadn't expected something so drastic. When they said that a creature blood could surface they never mentioned how startling the new features would be.

He was still Harry, he could just about see it. But it was like his perception was altered and it had been. He wasn't wearing his glasses and he could see perfectly. Before if he'd gotten this close to the mirror he would have seen every pore and imperfection in his skin. Now he saw nothing of the kind, if he didn't know he was still flesh he would swear his face was now sculpted from marble like Bernini's masterpieces or Michelangelo's David. Harry smiled, staring at a photograph of the latter statue's anatomy had made him realise a few things about himself last year. He wondered how the world would take it.

His skin had always had a golden hue to it, but he'd lost that now. He was a male snow white; there was no other way to describe what he was seeing. His skin was as pale as snow. If he didn't know better he would have sworn the Dursleys had come into his room last night and poured a load of flour on his face. But he didn't look sickly with it though.

His hair was darker too, he realised. No longer the blacky-brown colour it had been, no now it was pure black, darker than shadow. His eyes were different too, he didn't know if it was the lack of glasses or the creature blood, but they appeared brighter, less murky. The emerald colour more startling, almost dark and evergreen but not so dark the pupil could not be distinguished from the iris. Their shape was different also, that he knew, almond-shaped like his Mother's and Remus' instead of regular like his Dad's. He still had his Father's hair though, it was still all over the place, but it looked smoother and in better condition than he had ever seen it. It felt like velvet when he touched it. It was still a mop, but definitely better, he was toying with the idea of getting a hair lengthening potion and having it styled in Diagon Alley. That was of course if Silay would let him, after all he didn't know what time they had to be at the school for.

He thought for a moment, while his look was more exotic than a human's it wasn't necessarily magical. He knew one thing though; when he finished school he was going somewhere unbearably hot to get a tan. It was way too weird, suddenly being as pale as death.

He took another close look at his face. His features were finer, he'd lost the round boyish face he'd had, he looked more like his Mother than his Dad but he still had his Father's nose. Something that he was glad of, it would have been way too weird if he suddenly had his Mother's nose. It still wasn't totally magical though. Then Harry noticed the thick silver stripes that ran diagonally from both his hips across his ribs to just under his pecks.

"What the hell are they?"

"Signs of what you are." Came his teachers reply. "The ones from your hip run around your waist and continue a little bit further upwards to form a sort of uneven v. Then you have another two stripes above them, placed directly over your shoulder blades." Harry twisted his arm to try and feel out his back.

"What am I?" he asked turning away from the mirror.

"Something unnamed."

"Unnamed?"

"Yes, so few have ever been seen that it was concluded they were aberrations not full magical creatures. So they were never named in the Wizarding World, amongst others of the species they have a name but they do not tell it to us. Regulated like the Werewolves to being less than human but Other enough to be note worthy. We at the Academy know different of course. There is another like you there, who can explain much more. For now all I can say is that the stripes are where your wings come from. They are protective membranes that cover the place where your wings spring from, the first time is painful but after that it's not. The membrane magically reforms each time the wings are redrawn into the body. From the outside they are tougher though, easily breakable on the inside but you could be stabbed with a knife and the membrane wouldn't break from the outside. Though the wings have the appearance and feel of flesh they are in fact magical constructs. That is why they are drawn in and out of the body; the creatures magic creates them and then powers them. A human could create spells to make him fly but he could never use his magic in such a way. It's almost purely instinctual. If you want them out, think like a bird." After a slight pause he carried on as though Harry hadn't made what he believed to be a questioning sound.

"You will have four wings, like a butterfly in arrangement, the top two feathered like a birds the bottom two with two long feathers and a thin leathery membrane between the two. The top wings which are for power are long and thin, much like a birds in shape. The bottom wings though are shorter, about half the length of the dominant wings. The submissive wings have the appearance of a dragons'. The area closest to the body is bare of the leathery membrane and only starts halfway down the frame where the first feather is. The leathery membrane then stretches in a diamond shape to the second feather. The bottom feather being longer than the top…"

By then Harry's head was spinning. "Dominant and Submissive wings? What the hell does that mean?"

"Yes, the top wings are the dominants the bottom submissive as their role is secondary. When both are stretched to their full span it gives the appearance of a single wing. The primary use of the sub wings are to aid in manoeuvrability and lift, which is difficult due to the size and weight of your body. The tail helps with…"

"I HAVE A TAIL!" Harry exclaimed, turning around trying to get a look at his arse. Until the last point Harry had been thinking that Silay sounded like he was reciting from a textbook, so he'd just tried to listen to him and take it all in but he couldn't let that last one pass by without a comment.

Silay chuckled, "Yes, but like the wings it remains behind the protective membrane until needed or called."

"So I have another one of these…" he said fingering one of the raised stripes. "...directly above my arse?"

The man smiled. "You will have yes."

"Crap. Is there anything else I need to know?" he asked sarcastically.

"Only the rest of what I was about to tell you before you interrupted. The tail helps with manoeuvrability. Silver stripes…" he began pointing to Harry's ribs. "Indicate that you can be a submissive. No don't interrupt. If you noticed my words I said that you 'can' be a submissive. All this means in your species is that you are capable of bearing children if you submit to another. The terms dominant and submissive are only used in reference to this creature when they have mated or are mating. Unlike other creatures the sub does not submit to the dom all the time, only in the bedroom and by choice. As far as we have been able to tell being a sub in this species is different than being a sub in another. The sub is encouraged to challenge the dominant to keep them on their toes instead of obeying. While the sub is pregnant…yes pregnant, would my repeating of it help it to sink in? No? Good, because of this they must give up their defence to their dominant as defending themselves could harm their young. During this time the dominant nourishes and protects his chosen mate."

"Does that mean I'll only ever be able to be with one person?" Harry asked sadly.

"No Harry. This is not like Veela or Vampire societies or any other for that matter. This creature is quite unique. The only thing I will say is that the strength of your partner will be a factor in whether or not you conceive children. If the mate you pick isn't one of your own kind then you will be unable to get them pregnant. Even a female. And whether or not you get pregnant will depend on whether you feel confident in the others ability to protect you. It doesn't matter if you are always submissive to him or he to you. What matters is physical and magical strength. So if you want children be sure to take your creature instincts into account."

Harry nodded. 'So I can't get a woman pregnant unless she's one of my kind but can I get a male pregnant if he's another creature?"

"No. I'm afraid you'd have to bear the young in that case Harry."

"But would I have to get pregnant by a male of my species?"

"No the only factor is whether or not the other male can protect you.'

Harry nodded again to show he understood. But that didn't mean he liked it or that his head wasn't still spinning.

"Now Harry I think it's time that you go get a shower and get dressed. It's nearing nine o' clock now, so we can go to the shops. We don't have to be at the school until late this afternoon. This gives us time to get your school supplies and go anywhere else you want to, have a last visit with your friends' maybe. Although you can't actually tell them you're leaving. Oh don't look at me like I'm not speaking English I'll explain it fully later. But for now know you won't be seeing your friends for three years at a minimum and because of the nature of our protections you cannot write to them, they can't even know that you are gone. No don't interrupt I can't tell you about that now. The Headmistress will tell you when she meets with you tomorrow. Floo conversations are not allowed either as they can be easily traced. You should hurry with that shower; after all we have to get the necessary items for all your courses, for each year."

With that he gestured for Harry to move. After a minute in which he just stared Harry grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom. He wrinkled his nose; hopefully there would be enough time to go clothes shopping too.

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So what did you think of Silay?


	4. Chapter 4

_**Summary**…Just days after the DOM a mysterious letter arrives and Harry is faced with a decision. Reject the offer and continue on the path Dumbledore has set for him or forge a new one and challenge every opinion ever forced on him. _

**SLASH. Creature fic, new school, Grey/Powerful Harry… Oh if anything warning worthy develops I will put the warning in the authors note. I'll also try to highlight it in the text. K?**

_A/N…Right as stated in the summary this is **SLASH** so i would hope that anyone whose got to this point has got that by now, so remember if you don't_ _like it don't read it. **HBP and eventual DH **spoliers, but I think most people will have read that by now, so just in case. Will mention **Mpreg **but it isnt likely it will actually happen in the story. Could do but i doubt it. _

_Sorry I havent mentioned anybody here, i'm going to try and reply to everyones review directly instead of in the chapter. The only time i'll put a reply in the chapter is when it addresses something that I think needs explaining._

_**Pairing news...**So far i have had several votes for some canon males and even a few for oc's. Its still wide open though one person is in front by a couple of votes so at the moment he's the favorite. At the moment i'm not sure whether i'll just use the one with the most votes or whether i'll create a poll a bit further into the story when i've introduced some oc's. Anyway keep nominating and now onto the chapter. _

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_**A/N...**Someone asked me about Harry's submissiveness so I just thought I'd clarify. In this fic Harry will do whatever he wants in the bedroom, he may dominate his partner or they him. The oly time he will be termed a submissive is when he is intending to have children. when he wants to have babies he will have to be the bottom. The only problem is that his creature instincts may not believe that his mate is strong enough to father the kids. Only someone who Harry deems strong enough will be able to father them. He may love someone but that doesnt mean they will give him children. Hope that helps._

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_**Mysteria**_

**_Chapter Three_**

After shrinking the remaining items still unpacked, including his presents from the night before they placed them in his trunk, which Silay then shrunk and placed in his pocket. Silay then side-along apparated Harry to an alley just next to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry with Hedwig perched on his shoulder.

As they were walking the last few feet to the Cauldron Harry realised that Silay hadn't explained his remark about him having an affinity with many creatures. But he didn't need to ask, it was explained the moment he stepped through the doorway into the barely lit pub. A wizard at the table nearest the door had a cage with several rats he was supposedly selling and every single one of them stood up on their hind legs and chattered excitedly as Harry approached. He was very surprised to hear the odd word amongst the squeaks. Hedwig just clicked her beak in a disapproving way from her place upon his shoulder. This of course quietened the rats almost immediately.

Moving away from the wizard's excited babbling, that he had been trying to get them to do that for ages, they stepped out into the backyard that housed the entrance to Diagon Alley. Harry had kept his head down in the pub not wanting to be recognised. Much to his dismay he still had the damn scar. Being a curse scar and not a normal scar it wasn't as clear with the lightening of his skin but it could still be seen. Before tapping the bricks Silay turned to him.

"I'm guessing by the look you shot those rats that you could hear a few words."

"Yes I did. Is that what you meant-?"

"Yes it was." Silay laughed. "You will always have good relationships with animals. Most of them will be able to understand your wishes even if they can't understand your words and will act accordingly. I don't know how you get these feelings across but you will be told how to at the school. But there are some animals who you will be able to talk mind to mind with. The conversation is apparently very limited but perfectly understandable. It's usually more common with animals that have a connection to you. Familiars in particular."

"Even Hedwig?" he asked glancing at her.

"Even Hedwig." He assured. "If she wants to talk that is, Owls are rather quiet by nature so you might have to work hard just to get a hello." And while Harry digested that Silay tapped the bricks and they entered Diagon Alley.

Their first stop as always was Madam Makin's Robes for All Occasions. Before they entered Hedwig flew up to perch on the sign to wait for them to get done shopping. Madam Malkin herself who was busy behind the counter took one look at them and seemed to snap to attention before ushering them into a private room.

"You're my third so far this morning. How are you Silay, I haven't seen you for three years?" She said pushing Harry up on to a stool and taking out a tape measure.

"Perfectly fine my dear. Calfora has expressed her regret that you don't visit more." Harry had felt a sudden twinge of interest when the Headmistresses name had been mentioned. He knew it was her last name and not her first that Silay had used. He found it strange that she would want to be known that way.

Then again if he was honest with himself he would have been just as curious about any other woman that ran a school such as the one he was going to. He didn't know much about the place but based on the skills of the people it produced he knew he would be in for a tough time. She must be one tough old bird.

"Visiting." Madam Malkin scoffed. "When do I have the time, if it isn't your lot, its Hogwarts, or its purebloods wanting wardrobe overhauls. But I'll make some time to visit this year, don't you worry about that. Probably won't be till Christmas though." She finished with the measuring and moved over to a cabinet where she removed several items of an icy blue and several more of a darker midnight blue.

With a flick of her wand all of the appropriate items were in their places and resizing to fit him perfectly. Once she had done one set she moved on to another. She was going to stop at three but Harry asked for two more, so that he had one for each day. What he didn't realise was that this would actually mean ten robes, as there were separate robes for winter and summer. Something that he would be very grateful for. The difference between the robes were one was lightweight and the other not; also the colours of each separate piece of the uniform were reversed. In other words if one piece of the summer uniform was light blue then that same piece in the winter uniform would be dark blue and so on. The only exceptions were the cloaks; both were ice blue with midnight blue trim and symbols. The only differences were the materials each cloak was made out of. Confusing when you think about it but it looked cool and that was all that mattered.

Before ushering him down he got a good look in the mirror. The uniform was simple yet aesthetic, although it did have quite a few layers to it. He had been ecstatic when he'd seen the first part of the uniform. A simple T-shirt and trousers done in the school's colours. This was then followed by an under robe, something that hadn't appeared in the Hogwart's uniform. On top of this was the outer robe like he'd worn at Hogwarts, just a lot less itchy. The whole ensemble was finished with a cloak.

Harry found himself grinning, no button up shirts, no ties or best trousers. This was brilliant. He took a closer look at his new summer uniform.

The under robe was open, meaning it had no sleeves and flowed freely from the waist down. It had a stand up collar and joined at the neck. It stayed together with seven small buttons until it reached the waist where a strip of slightly creased material made a sort of belt. It was about four inches wide and was the same colour as the rest of the robe, which was ice blue. The rest of it flared out from the hips and would no doubt stream when walking, like Professor Snapes'. The only mark on it was the school's crest, a full moon surrounded by a crescent, done in midnight blue upon the left breast.

The trousers were midnight blue and like the robe fit like a second skin. In other words much tighter than any other clothing he'd owned. The boots were midnight blue ankle boots, slim, fitting the shape of the foot perfectly. There was a second higher and sturdier pair for winter.

The summer uniforms over robe was midnight blue with an icy blue symbol on the breast, these were exactly like his Hogwarts robes, meant to be worn open and flowing, they just weren't made of the same thick wool as Hogwarts'. There was also a slightly thicker version of the over robe to be worn in the winter but as mentioned before this one was a light blue instead.

As well as a light weight summer cloak, there was also a thicker cloak that had been made water proof for colder days or rainy ones or even very snowy ones, if the thick woollen jumpers that could be worn over the under robes were anything to go by.

He would have to watch how he dressed. Knowing his luck he would mix up the items and end up wearing a medley of the two. He ran through the main items again in his head. Both the summer and winter cloaks were icy blue in colour, the only way to tell them apart was by looking at the thickness of the material. The summer over robe was midnight blue, the winter one ice blue. The summer under robe was ice blue, the winter one midnight blue.

All these items were to be worn over the t-shirt and trousers also supplied. Students could choose to discard the cloaks and outer robes if they wished but had to wear the under robes unless given permission to remove them by a teacher. The outer robe and cloak were mainly for changes in the weather. On really warm days they could just wear the t-shirt and trousers and wear the under robe as an open one if they wanted. This sounded good to him as in the height of summer Hogwart's black woollen robes could be a real pain.

He loved the uniform, no more ties, stifling black robes or annoying button up shirts. The t-shirts made a lot more sense to him, each one had the schools symbol on it. The t-shirts came in both colours, it didn't matter which one you wore.

The uniform was a lot more varied and relaxed than the standard Hogwarts one. Hats were not part of the wardrobe, but students could wear them if the weather was particularly vicious. Surprisingly there was underwear and socks also with the school crest on, if one wanted to buy them that is, he didn't.

After that, when he'd finally thought they were done he had to try on duelling robes (one light blue and one dark, the dark apparently had a heavier durability, the light was more for show and presentations), dress robes (one light blue, one dark) and several varieties of protective robes (one each for potions, curses, the dark arts, DADA and blood magic) all with the schools symbol on. Even he could tell the difference between each robe but that didn't mean he saw the need for them. They didn't have protective robes at Hogwarts just normal school ones. A thought did occur to him later Maybe that's why there were so many accidents at Hogwarts.

All in all he'd bought eighteen robes so far that day and he was about to ask for more. He must be insane. Then again the duelling ones were practice ones, he'd been told by Silay that eventually he'd have to get some proper made to order ones. But that could apparently wait until he was closer to finishing school.

Even though he was regretting the question, he knew he needed to ask. So he did, he asked Madam Makin's about getting an entire new wardrobe. She smiled at the hesitancy in his voice and led him to a sort of changing room with a manikin inside.

"Now once I am gone this manikin will take on the shape of your body. All you need to do is imagine what you want and it will appear on the manikin, when you see something you like tap it with your wand and say "Make". It's that simple."

"Er…but what if I don't know what looks good on me?"

She smiled at him in understanding. "If the manikin judges the clothes as unsuitable it will not create them. And will show you an alternative, this might be a variation in colour or theme, but it's wise to heed it. If it likes something it will not allow it to be wiped unless you are insistent. It has a mind of its own and will not allow anyone to leave this shop with clothes that will look bad on them. I have a reputation to keep after all. Right then Mr Potter I'll let you get on with it then."

And with that she turned around and left him alone. Watching her leave he didn't see the actual moment of change, but by the time he turned round again he was looking at himself. A very naked him.

He got a real good look at himself. Probably a better look than he wanted…it was weird seeing your own arse from that angle and the damn stripes. It looked like someone had painted silver v's on his hips and then decided to colour his shoulder blades in for good measure. Luckily the strip above his arse wasn't nearly as big as the other ones. Even more luckily he didn't have any new colours on his cock, no thankfully that was normal...definitely longer than it had been though. He'd muscled up as well…and had gotten taller, he realised that when his first attempt at imagining resulted in his usual length jeans coming in way too short for his new body.

He got the hang of it pretty soon though and realised he did have a fashion sense after all, only a couple of his initial attempts went wrong.

He started with jeans, black, blue, distressed, stone washed, ripped, he went for them all. He even made some with additions, like chains or black designs a little like tattoos. Next he got himself a couple of dress trousers, just in case and a couple of smart shirts to go with them. He was able to design some new trainers, one pair black and one white. He chose silver and gold accents, gold on the black ones and silver on the white ones. And then for the hell of it got another two pairs but with the colours reversed. Then a black pair with a bit of green on them. Never having shopped for himself before he found it a little hard to stop. He then got himself some black boots and feeling daring some bottle green ones too. He got a couple of t-shirts in the same colour and some more dress-robes.

He got t-shirts and button downs in every colour he could think of, blues, reds, greys, greens, browns and black being the most common. Although he did manage to find a dark purple that suited him well. It went very well with his new skin tone. For a laugh he decided to try out some really gross colours and almost laughed when the manikin seemed to wipe them as quickly as they appeared. He created t-shirts with strange patterns and designs but only liked a couple enough to keep.

The clothes he chose were either tight or loose depending on what he felt like at the moment. He created several jackets, thin and light, one in black and one that was both light and dark brown. And again he couldn't resist a green one; it was becoming his favourite colour. Then a purple one and even a red one. And after thinking what the hell, he got some long coats in the same colours, the red and green ones coming down to his ankles and being quite close fitting. He decided on old fashioned fastenings that ended at his waist, this gave each coat a slight military look, not modern of course, something that wouldn't have looked out of place a couple of hundred years ago. These coats were made from the same material as the jackets, so really they were just very long jackets but who cared.

He got a thicker coat that belted at the waist for winter; he got that in bottle green and as an afterthought a black one just to be conservative. As a final thought he added a few hoodies and shirts that were to be worn over the top of t-shirts. All of the shirts were rather loose and had different designs or quotes on them. The quotes were things he'd seen muggles wearing on their t-shirts.

He finally emerged at quarter to eleven, when he went to pay for his purchases Madam Malkin beat him to it, she handed him the shrunken packages and said that all dealings with the school's students were discreet so she would send the bill to Gringott's later as she trusted him.

But before leaving he asked her what would be the best place to buy a magical bag. After all if he had to carry several pairs of robes around a day he certainly needed a bigger bag. She smiled and told him the trunk store at the end of the alley. Harry made a mental note to go there later.

They left and headed to the bookshop.

"I don't think I want to know how much I spent in there."

"Probably not." Silay smiled.

"So do you have that sort of arrangement with all the shops here?"

"No, just Madam Malkin, I think it was easier to organise the situation with a robe maker than trying to act independently. Everything else can be bought in varying locations. We go all over the world for supplies to keep the trail cold."

"Cool. So what are we getting from here?" he asked as they entered Flourish and Blotts.

"Some of the texts are available at this store, we will have to go farther afield for others though. After that we will try the menageries before heading into Knockturn Alley. After that we will need to make a quick foray into Muggle London before apparating to France."

"France really?"

"Yes."

"Cool, I've never been there."

Silay wanted to ask the boy if he'd ever been anywhere other than his school, Little Whinging or London, but refrained from doing so. The more he learnt about the boy, the more similar their situations seemed.

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Flourish and Blotts wasn't as busy as it was at the other times he had been there. But that was understandable; the book lists wouldn't be out for a couple of days yet. They seemingly browsed the shelves, Harry picking up whatever he fancied and putting it in the carry basket, Silay making systematic additions and discreetly indicating the next stack of shelves that they needed to visit.

He got his books for Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, DADA, Herbology and Healing. Harry found it odd that none of the books they had picked up were the ones used by Hogwarts. He decided to get copies of the last two grades of the Standard Book of Spells, just to complete his collection and after some thought he picked up a couple of wizarding history and protocol books. He picked up some books for fun too, wizarding fiction and the like (some from the used section as they didn't have newer copies) as well as some other books that Silay suggested. These were all from the required fields and were all more intensive, but easier to understand than the books he had been learning out of at Hogwarts. They gave fuller explanations, especially in potions.

They couldn't get any more of the required texts from there, as the Ministry had long ago regulated the types of books that could be sold. Things like Blood Magic and inventing your own curses were illegal unless sanctioned by the Ministry.

Silay paid for their books with the schools money, stating that a bill would be sent to Gringotts later.

Afterwards they headed to the Magical Menagerie where Harry caused quite a ruckus. The place had always been noisy but now it was unbearable, any shoppers that were inside quickly hurried out, leaving only Harry and Silay inside. The sales assistant gave them a sour look before plugging her ears with muggle ear plugs. Harry didn't mind her rudeness; after all if he had to talk to a snake he'd rather she not hear and freak out.

He headed straight over to the snakes. But soon found that none of them were what he wanted, they were all lazy, fat serpents that didn't seem to want to talk at all. Looking around the store he saw various types of birds, most were multi-coloured and really bright and chatty but an annoying chatty. He was heading out when a flash of green caught his eye. Looking up he saw a little white cat. Barely out of kitten-hood but powerfully muscled. The cat was male you could tell by the way he sat, his back perfectly arched as he was nonchalantly cleaning a paw. Harry reached out his hand towards him and he left off licking his limbs long enough to butt his head against Harry's hand and lick his fingers before returning to his wash. He caught a flash of pale green eyes when he looked away, which he found odd because he was sure that the cat's eyes had been blue.

The feel of the tongue on his hand had been strange but not unpleasant; it was a show of affection as much as when Hedwig nipped his ear. Foreign, not entirely human to him, but it still held the same feeling as a hug.

Making his decision he told the shop assistant he wanted him. Five minutes later he left the shop with a cat basket that was purring extremely loudly.

"Do you still want to look for a snake or are you ready to move on?" Silay asked him.

"I'd still like a snake. They'll have snakes in Knockturn Alley won't they, so I can always have a look there can't I?"

"Yes you can, there are also some other menageries located near our other stops so there is plenty of time for you to find another. We have about forty five minutes though before I have to send off the list. So I suggest we go straight to the Menagerie in Knockturn and if we don't find one, rush through our business there and head to another shop."

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Knockturn Alley had two menageries, the first surprisingly had no snakes at that time and the second only sold Owls, which really surprised him. Disappointed they headed to the apothecary, where they bought a complete potions set, most of the ingredients Harry had never even heard of. He was sure Snape had never even mentioned them. A coded discussion also bought them several strangely shaped vials for holding and containing various essences. For a moment the idea of containing essences in vials worried him. But once they were outside Silay explained that essence was conjured and summoned not stolen from living things. Only Master's manipulated living essence. And it would be quite a while before he had to use them anyway so he might be more comfortable using the vials by then.

Passing some railings on their way to the apparition point Harry suddenly heard hissing.

**_"Master?"_**

Harry turned around and for a moment couldn't see anything. But then something strange happened. One of the metal snakes that adorned the railings moved. It was a thin thing only half an inch wide and quite short, a quarter of a metre at most, its head easily twice as thick as its body. It was pure silver, bright and shiny with large black eyes like coals. There was a cross-hatching of lines down its back and horizontal lines across its belly.

"**_Master?"_**

**_"Hello, I'm Harry, who are you?"_**

**_"We are Silvera Master."_**

**_"We?"_** Harry asked. The snake nodded, pointing its head to other little snakes that were slowly uncoiling themselves from the railings and moving closer.

"**_We are one Master. We are yours we shall do whatever you will."_**

**_"When you say one, what do you mean?"_**

**_"We mean this my Master." _** With that the other snakes, making four in total wrapped themselves around each other joining at the head. The final form was a diamond headed snake with a larger spiral like body a little like a short rope. She was beautiful; he assumed she was a girl based on the cadence of her speech. It was different from the more throaty hissing speech of the males.

He turned to Silay who had remained silent all this time. His teacher was looking at him with a slightly awed expression on his face.

"Can she be classed as one if like this?" Harry asked hopefully.

Silay had to clear his throat before he could speak. "She is one. She's an Indian Rope Snake, one creature that has the ability to split its body into four smaller snakes. If any of those snakes are separated for two long then they cannot rejoin and grow separately, eventually splitting themselves further. Judging by the fact that her body is only a quarter of a metre she is only a juvenile. Shall I put her down as your third familiar?"

"Yes, if she'll come." He turned back to the snake. "**_Do you wish to come with me little one?"_**

**_"Oh yes please Master."_** He smiled.

**_"There's no need to call me Master little one, Harry will do."_**

**_"But you are a snake speaker Master, it is not respectful to call you anything other than Master, Master."_** Deciding he was fighting a losing battle Harry held his arm out to the snake who slithered up without hesitation.

Once she was firmly wrapped around his arm the clock above their heads struck a quarter to twelve. After adding Silvera to the list, Silay clicked his fingers; the parchment rolled itself up and disappeared.

"Right that's done then. Now is there anything else you want to do around here before we move on?"

"Um well, I wouldn't mind getting a hair lengthening potion from the apothecary in Diagon and having my hair styled if that's alright?"

"Perfectly understandable but why don't we get some lunch at the cauldron first?"

After Harry agreed they headed to the cauldron and placed their orders. While they were waiting for their food, Harry decided to change into one of his new outfits. He chose black jeans and a dark steel grey t-shirt with his black trainers with the silver stripes. He stuffed his old clothes in the bag, thinking he'd get rid of them later. Who knew what wizards could do with clothes, they had DNA all over them after all. After all he'd used polyjuice potion at a young age, who's to say someone couldn't use his DNA the same way. Thinking about it, using polyjuice potion was really a big invasion of privacy wasn't it?

When he got back downstairs he found somebody else sat at the table having a conversation with Silay.

The man there was dark skinned and dark haired, he was chatting away to Silay who seemed interested and friendly. There was another boy sat next to them, pale skinned and dark haired he looked very familiar, but all Harry could see was the back of his head. The boy moved slightly and Harry recognised him.

"Neville!"

Neville spun around and exclaimed "Harry!"

Luckily the Cauldron was rather busy so with all the chatter no one had really heard him shout. Harry hurried over and gave him a quick one armed hug.

"Oh Merlin look at you! How are you mate?" Neville had changed. He was still the same in looks, he just wasn't a boy anymore.

"I'm alright Harry, how are you after, well after the Ministry?" Harry felt the thoughts of Sirius coming towards him but held them back with a forced smile.

"I'm alright Neville, I'm dealing with it. So you're going too then?" he asked with a smile. Neville answered with one of his own.

"Harry come sit down." Silay called. Harry sat next to Neville and saw that the other man, Neville's mentor was looking at him intently.

"Hello Mr Potter, I'm Kire Halford. I will be your Blood Magic tutor, Silay here told me you were taking the subject."

"I am, yes."

"I see you and Neville know each other." Kire said. He appeared quite easy going, the perfect person to take Neville around and explain stuff to him. The boy got agitated easily. He wondered if the school kept a watch on them to make such perfect judgements on their needs.

"It's good that you'll both know somebody." Silay said with a smile, he was glad that Harry already knew someone. He just hoped both of them made it to the school.

All in all they spent half an hour with Neville and Kire, before heading off to get Harry's hair cut.

"You don't need to go to the apothecary; they'll lengthen your hair first if you ask." Silay told him as he pushed Harry through the door.

Harry was ushered into a chair before he knew what was happening. A woman's long nailed hands were carding through his hair.

"It's in really good condition. So what do you want doing with it?"

"Er I'm not sure." Harry replied. "I was thinking of going for something a little longer, I thought my hair might be a little bit more manageable if it was longer."

"Hhhhmm I agree. How long were you thinking?" she said tugging on a few strands so that they framed his face.

"Maybe to my shoulders."

"Ok I'll lengthen it a bit more than that and then we'll see what we have to work with."

He spent about half an hour in the chair. By the time she finally turned him around to face the mirror he was a little worried. The only thing that hadn't really been forced to change much was his hair and now he was altering that himself. But he needn't have worried.

In the end his hair reached his stomach, it was still unruly but looked more like it was meant to be that way than the rat's nest it had been. It was all different lengths, the longest piece reaching his stomach and the shortest his cheekbones. The cut was extremely jagged, giving him an edgy look; it was a mix of long, mid and short lengths. And not all in the same place, the shorter lengths weren't all at the front for one thing, they were all over. After some debate they had decided to add some green highlights and a few amber ones as the colour really brought out the colour of his eyes for some strange reason.

All in all he was really pleased with his new look, he looked kind of feral if he did say so himself.

"Now I've charmed the colours so that every time your hair grows the colours will spread to cover the new growth. If you want to straighten it or curl it or anything here's a booklet listing some styling and conditioning charms. If you want the colour charms removing you'll have to come back." He then thanked her for the booklet and happily paid her for her time.

When he got back to Silay, who had been waiting with his snake Silvera and the so far un-named cat, the man just nodded but Silvera decided she just had to comment.

**_"Very good Master, it should be much easier for you to attract a mate now." _**

A meow sounded from the carrier, it seemed the cat was also in agreement.

**_"Yeh thanks. "_** Harry said sarcastically.

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	5. Chapter 5

_**Summary**…Just days after the DOM a mysterious letter arrives and Harry is faced with a decision. Reject the offer and continue on the path Dumbledore has set for him or forge a new one and challenge every opinion ever forced on him. _

**SLASH. Creature fic, new school, Grey/Powerful Harry… Oh if anything warning worthy develops I will put the warning in the authors note. I'll also try to highlight it in the text. K?**

_A/N…Right as stated in the summary this is **SLASH** so i would hope that anyone whose got to this point has got that by now, so remember if you don't_ _like it don't read it. **HBP and eventual DH **spoliers, but I think most people will have read that by now, so just in case. Will mention **Mpreg **but it isnt likely it will actually happen in the story. Could do but i doubt it. _

_Sorry I havent mentioned anybody here, i'm going to try and reply to everyones review directly instead of in the chapter. The only time i'll put a reply in the chapter is when it addresses something that I think needs explaining._

_**Pairing news...**So far i have had several votes for some canon males and even a few for oc's. Its still wide open though one person is in front by a couple of votes so at the moment he's the favorite. At the moment i'm not sure whether i'll just use the one with the most votes or whether i'll create a poll a bit further into the story when i've introduced some oc's. Anyway keep nominating and now onto the chapter. _

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_**A/N...**I was asked about Harry and his children. Harry can impregnate a female or submissive male of his species. If he chooses someone from another species or a wizard then he has to carry the child. Does that make more sense? Oh and for those of you who are waiting for the next chapter of Banshee's Balls, I promise I will get it up this week._

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_**Mysteria**_

**_Chapter Four _**

They made a quick stop at the trunk shop Madam Malkin had suggested on their way to Gringotts. After a lot of internal debate Harry decided that he really didn't need a new trunk as for now he could manage his stuff easily with shrinking charms. He did buy a special bag with several compartments and expansion charms as he didn't feel like shrinking and unshrinking everything he needed before and after each lesson.

Gringotts was a necessary stop before they left the alley as Harry needed to withdraw some money, Silay had hinted that he might want to bring quite a bit. Silay had explained earlier that they couldn't leave during the holidays without special permission, so Harry wanted to get everything sorted now.

Apparently he also needed to sign some paperwork but he didn't know that at the time.

They entered Gringotts without bothering to read the inscription; they'd both done so many times before and joined the queue for the tellers. When Harry handed over his key and asked to be taken to his vault, the goblin looked at him strangely for a moment before requesting that Harry follow him. Harry just shrugged at Silay's enquiring gaze and followed the goblin to one of the back offices. The sign on the door proclaimed the goblin inside to be the Head of Creature Related Inheritances.

The old goblin behind the desk like the majority of his kind got straight down to business.

"Mr Potter." He inclined his head formally. "I am afraid there are some details pertaining to your vaults that need to be taken care of."

"Vaults?" Harry questioned.

"Indeed Mr Potter. Your case is quite a complicated one, as you are no doubt aware a Witch or Wizard does not come of age until the day of their seventeenth birthday. When a Witch or Wizard comes of age they are given full access to their family's vault. However in certain cases the age of said coming of age is reduced to that of sixteen. The four cases involved all pertain to your own situation, unfortunately each one has a loophole. In the Wizarding world the early coming of age can be contested by certain parties. We thought it wise to inform you of these so that you might take precautions. The first that applies to your own situation is the case of a Witch or Wizard without immediate family. As you have no immediate family in the wizarding world a secondary branch of the family can petition for custody of you. In this case that would be your muggle relatives, who could decide you are not able to take care of yourself and then take appropriate action. The second is in the case of a creature inheritance, any related creature can also petition for custody of you. This is not so much of a threat to you as your creature breed according to the information provided shortly after your birth is quite rare, it is therefore unlikely that there are any living members with enough of a blood relationship to make a claim. Third is by being a Pureblood…"

Harry interrupted before he could stop himself. "But I'm not a Pureblood."

"I am afraid Mr Potter that you are. In Wizard Society the Creature blood outranks the Muggleborn blood within you. This combined with your purebred ancestry on your Father's side makes you a pureblood. In the Wizarding world an orphaned pureblood is eligible to have full control of their monetary assets from their sixteenth year as they often have to take over the running of estates. The problem is that the law states that any pureblood family due to their inter-relatedness could also petition for custody. We would have been sending you a letter within the next couple of days to apprise you of the situation but your arrival here today has saved us the trouble."

"So what does this mean then?" He asked trying to get his head around it all. He didn't understand the most of it but he understood enough. Either the Dursley's, unknown creatures or any number of pureblood families could petition for control of his life.

"It means Mr Potter that if you were to sign the document that I have here then you will have full control over the entire Potter estate." Harry looked up shocked. "This is the fourth situation Mr Potter and it provides you with a safe alternative. One that few people are offered."

Harry thought over his options before answering. "If I were to sign that would I be still under the guardianship of my Aunt and Uncle?"

"No Mr Potter, according to this document another unnamed entity has taken over your guardianship from your relatives." He said shooting a quick glance at Silay. "This entity will release you from its guardianship at the end of your seventeenth year. This is the fourth case I mentioned to you earlier, the entity which I know myself to be a school we have had dealings with in the past has petitioned for your guardianship based on your magic potential. By accepting this guardianship you have full control over your estates, it also protects you from further threat of being petitioned. It also safely breaks your contract with your former school removing you from that Headmaster's jurisdiction."

"I am thoroughly confused." Harry sighed rubbing his eyes. "So from what I can gather, this early adulthood thing is subject to change. The Ministry doesn't like the idea of a "child" being in charge of their life at such a young age and have made several loop holes to prevent this. If my relatives found out about my having money they could again claim guardianship over me. I'm guessing they could even withdraw my money and convert it into Muggle money if they found out about it, thereby making me dependent on them and preventing me from returning to Hogwarts or any other Wizarding school as I wouldn't have the money to pay the tuition." The goblin just nodded.

"In the case of creatures, I know nothing about them, the way they live or their possible intentions but I would rather not be beholden to anybody anyway. The possibility of a pureblood family petitioning is the most worrying. Especially as most of them would be Deatheaters intent on delivering me to their Master. Although the Weasleys could always petition as well I suppose." He broke away from his musings.

"You are correct Mr Potter several Pureblood petitions have already been made. The Weasley family being one, the Malfoy's, Longbottom's. Parkinson's and Nott's being a few of the others. Petitions are not limited and could even come from other countries."

Harry nodded. "I had already decided to go to the school before this information came to light, but if it can protect me from ending up in Malfoy Manor I can't wait to get there."

"Very well Mr Potter, please sign here." Harry did and that was that. His new 'guardian' protected him from all his other would be guardians and gave him the full rights of an adult.

"Very well Mr. Potter, there is just one other thing we have to discuss, then you can go down to your vaults. One Sirius Orion Black, recently deceased has left his remaining estate to you. This includes both the Black vault and the Black properties. As per his wishes ownership has already been converted to you. Further more, by being the last surviving member of the Potter bloodline you are also given access to one other vault, the vault containing the combined assets of the family. This includes their monetary values, investments and properties. The familial relationship was recently discovered during our centenary clear out. How it was missed beforehand we don't know. We found the vault and looked for any remaining blood relations, the Potter family is the last and as per law the families assets become yours. The Peverell family." Here the Goblin paused as though Harry should know the name. He didn't. He cleared his throat and continued. "Quite a notorious family. You are the last remaining descendent of the third Peverell son. It may be a wise idea to look up this familie's history Mr Potter. We are currently undertaking a mass inventory of all your assets and will send them on to you when we have finalised them."

Harry nodded his head to show he'd understood. He couldn't believe that Sirius had left him everything, he felt sure that he would have left Remus something.

"Sir, did Sirius Black leave anything to Remus Lupin?"

The goblin regarded him for a moment and Harry realised that technically they weren't allowed to answer that question.

"He left him a large amount of gold and a single property in London."

Harry nodded, pleased that his Godfather had done that. After a few more minutes of talk he and Silay headed down to check out the Potter vault, leaving the new ones for another time.

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As they journeyed through dark tunnels Silay wondered why he was allowing Harry to look through his vaults. Originally they had only been going down for money but after hearing that he had full access to his vault Harry wanted to have a good look around. After all this wasn't school business, but then again the haircut and wardrobe hadn't been school business either. He supposed the reason was more than just the fact that the lad reminded him of himself when he was younger. He was actually really enjoying Harry's company. He liked him.

He knew that they should be getting on; after all they had several other items to procure outside of Britain. Then Harry had to visit his friends, if he chose to do so before they actually left for the school. And getting to the school wasn't easy, so having as much time to do it as possible seemed the best idea, but there was something in the back of his mind telling him it would be well worth his time if he allowed Harry to go down there.

He understood why the moment the trust vault, i.e. the one Harry had used since first year revolved out of the way. Gringott's vaults had several protections. The most well known protections were the tunnels, heavy doors and the dragons. In the case of underage patrons, the person's true valuables were hidden behind what was known as a trust vault, unable to be accessed until they came of age.

The trust vault contained the money that the child's family had set aside for their use before they came of age. Once the child was of age they could then enter the rest of the vault. The door would open on the trust vault which would then move out of the way to reveal a corridor. The trust fund vault would then disappear, not to be used until a later descendent of the Potter line needed it. Like as in Harry's case, after the loss of their parents.

The Potter's actual vault was massive, more like several vaults joined together than one single vault, surely it had some of the things they were looking for. The main room had several doors leading off of it which led to specific rooms containing certain things, the walls were covered with various pieces of artwork all with preservation spells, some of the pieces were really beautiful. Harry just looked at them for a while.

"Ok. Where do I start?" Harry wondered aloud.

"Well…" Silay began startling Harry who'd forgotten he was there. "Old pureblood families usually have veritable armouries of weapons in their vaults. Swords used by ancestors and such. Modern weapons aren't up to the same standard for magical use for some reason, so if you are agreeable we could look to see about a blade here instead of going to a shop selling antique weapons. That'd save some time, as we've already spent more here than I envisioned."

Harry shook his head and hid a smile, he was starting to wonder whether Silay wouldn't turn out to be a little mother hen-ish.

They started searching the many doors for the one that led to the armoury. They finally found it after trying about ten different doors. There were a couple still left to look in but they decided to leave that until after they examined the weapons.

Upon entering Harry was immediately drawn to the statue in the centre of the room. The figure was wearing stark black duelling robes, the Potter crest emblazoned over its heart. On the back was a large gold emblem of a snake-like dragon with claws on its wings and flames coming from its mouth. He couldn't get that good a look at it from the angle he was currently at though, but it looked pretty amazing.

The plaque beside the statue read…

Traditional duelling robes, worn by every generation of Potter's since their creation. The outer lining is basilisk hide (dyed black), denser and more versatile than Dragon hide, the inner lining has two separate layers of Dragon scales: Horntail and Chinese Fireball. Making them impervious to flame and giving a secondary protection against deep penetrating hexes. A velvet lining prevents the skin from chafing. All four layers have been compacted, reducing the chance of hindrance. This is one of the last great sets of duelling wear created by the Master Hara Kin, gifted by him to the Potter family for the use of any true Potter descendent. While the crest remains unchanging the emblem on the back will always represent the next intended wearer.

And beneath that it said…Last worn by James Potter.

Without hesitation Harry reached out and touched the fabric, there was a flash of light and the robes appeared at his feet neatly folded. With a shake of his head Silay got out the shrunken trunk he had been carrying for Harry. He then placed all of their shrunken purchases besides Hedwig's shrunken cage before motioning for Harry to place the duelling robe inside, near enough everything inside the trunk had been shrunk so that the new purchases fit.

"In Charms this year you will learn a shrinking charm that can be permanently attached to items responding only to your will. From the moment you enter the school the Ministry will only sense what we allow them to, but whenever you leave you must still refrain from using magic to keep yourself from being found."

"So I am allowed to leave the school then?"

"Yes, but only for short amounts of time. We use that as a way to weed out the unworthy, you'd be surprised how many people quit after finding that out. The school does not have a large summer holiday, instead the work is reduced allowing for more free time and fairly frequent short holidays are taken instead."

Both of them watched as Silvera slithered down Harry's arm and off into the racks of weapons surrounding the walls.

"What's she up to?" Harry mused aloud.

"I have no idea Harry, so if we could get back to the task at hand?"

Harry began searching through the racks of swords, none really catching his interest.

**_"Master…"_** Harry looked up trying to spot the snake. **_"Over here Master, by the big shield. "_**

Harry looked over and found Silvera wound around the hilt of a sword. Getting an idea of what she wanted Harry threaded his way towards her. Silay stopped what he was doing to watch. He had been gathering different types of smaller blades, daggers, knives and throwing blades.

When Harry got closer he saw a long thin sword with an embellished hilt. He held out his hand over it and felt a warm glow in his palm and a certainty fell over him much like it had with his wand. Silvera slithered onto his arm allowing him to remove the sword from its stand.

Silay came over to take a closer look at it. "It's a Swept Hilt rapier, looks to be Italian. It seems to have been commissioned for your family." He said pointing to the embellished hand guard which consisted of a motif of metal snakes and feathers. The blade had been cured with some sort of oil or something, Harry had seen them do it on TV, but he had no idea what the stuff was called. It gave the appearance of the blade being dipped in fire. The handle was crushed and moulded Mother of Pearl. It was beautiful.

"I've got a scabbard here for it." Silay said. "Grab the stand as well, it's good for storage. Then come over here and we'll look at other weapons."

In the end Harry ended up with two 17th century Italian Stilettos, two very thin daggers, easily concealed and good for thrusting in one on one combat. A Radaelli Fencing Sabre, button tipped to prevent injury, good for practice and lethal when the safety was removed. A 17th century Renaissance Ring Dagger or Parrying Dagger also joined the pile, the blade was stainless steel, it had a chiselled pommel and guard, the last in a vague "s" shape. Finally he had a third stiletto; it had tooled leather over a spiral grip and a leather and silver scabbard.

Harry also took away a European Portable Crossbow and a quiver of quarrels. They also found a 15th century Two Handed Gothic sword of German make; it had a fishtail pommel and hexagonal quillions. When he wore it, it would be fastened to his back, the rapier at his side. The final weapons he picked were two bows and corresponding quivers of arrows. One a short Recurve Bow, the other an English Long Bow. However Silay thought he should take the throwing daggers also, he decided to trust the man's judgment and added them to the trunk. Of course he wouldn't be carrying all the weapons about. If he did he'd be unable to move for the weight. Also it was likely that he wouldn't be able to use some of the weapons effectively.

They then made a quick check of the other rooms, in the one consisting entirely of books they found the rest of Harry's book list. Silay counted that as extremely good fortune. The fact that they were older editions wasn't a problem as they were self updating. They also found the necessary tools for blood magic, a shallow basin, several thick vials and a stout knife.

The other vaults seemed devoted to things Harry didn't really need at the moment like jewellery and pieces of artwork. Apart from the massive room that held his families gold, there was nothing else he needed to see. He'd come back and explore it at a later date.

It was almost half past four by then and since they had nothing else to get having found what they were missing in his vault, Harry could go and say goodbye to his friends if he wanted to. He felt Silvera wind tighter around his arm, as he thought about who he wanted to see for a final visit.

If he went to see Hermione, Ron or any of the Weasleys they would wonder why he was there early and if they found out where he was going they'd try and talk him out of going, except maybe the twins, Charlie and Bill. But they weren't always around; in fact if he remembered right both the older two had headed back to their respective countries for a visit. He thought about going to see Luna, but then he remembered that she was going on holiday with her Dad to find Crumple Horned Snorkacks. The only other person he had been certain he wanted to see was Remus. So with that decided Harry made sure Silvera was wrapped around him tightly, signalled to Hedwig who then landed on his shoulder and made sure he had a firm grip on the cat carrier before Silay apparated them to wherever Remus was at the moment.

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They landed outside a dilapidated shack in the middle of a clearing. The ground was muddy, the grass trampled and there were no flowers, the wood of the shack was old and flaking and the roof tiles obviously needed replacing. Remus couldn't live here surely?

Apart from the slightly homey look of the smoking chimney, Grimmauld place was definitely in better condition than this dump. Why wasn't Remus living there?

"Remus." He called as Hedwig again left his shoulder.

"Harry!" a hoarse voice answered from inside, a moment later his second godfather was at the door. Harry was about to step forward and hug him when he noticed the state Remus was in.

"Oh Merlin, Remus!" Harry exclaimed rushing forward to help the man back inside, leaving Silay to follow them in.

The inside of the house was worse than the outside, dusty and grimy, with very little furniture. Remus seemed to have been using a load of balled up blankets for a bed. He was in a right state. Harry knew it had been the full moon two days ago but he'd never seen Remus this bad before.

"What happened?"

"It was the full moon the other night Harry."

"I know that, but you aren't usually this bad."

Remus snorted, then groaned as one of the cuts on his face reopened. "Dumbledore wanted me to go and talk to the Werewolf pack in the nearby forest. Unfortunately Greyback had gotten there first…"

"The one who bit you?" Harry asked.

"Yeah him." Remus grimaced. "He loved seeing me again, thought it was Christmas come early. _"You, I haven't seen you since you were this high_." He said motioning with his hand. "I was only four at the time. Bastard, what I wouldn't have done to be able to kill him." Remus growled. "Unfortunately the pack had given their loyalty to him, before I even got there. Doesn't matter who you are, you can't win a fight against a Werewolf pack, I had to run."

"How'd you get away?" Harry asked, looking at the many wounds littering Remus' torso and his waxy colour.

Remus gave a bitter laugh. "You don't want to know Harry."

"What can I do?" he asked.

"Nothing, I wish you hadn't come. You shouldn't be seeing me like this Harry."

"Rubbish." Harry said heatedly. "My Father and my other Godfather no doubt helped you recover after a transformation. What would they say if I left you like this? Now tell me what to do?" Harry growled. Remus looked incapable of answering for a moment so another voice did.

"First thing he needs is healing. I can do that while you get everything else sorted." Silay said stepping forward, after letting the little white cat out of its carrier for a run.

Harry looked like he wanted to protest for a moment before nodding. Silay crossed to the makeshift bed and sat down looking intently at Remus. "Ok Harry, first thing I want you to do is use a few charms to clean this place up a little bit, it doesn't have to be spotless." He said. "Just cleaner. After that can you get a mug and some water?"

Harry nodded turning away, knowing that Silay wanted him away before he started working. The man was fully trained. He could have all that done with a flick of his wand if it was that important.

Once Harry was away, Silay cast a quick silencing charm.

"I'm Silay." He said giving the man a slight smile. "How much of you needs healing?" he asked with a slight arch of his eyebrow. Remus understanding what he was silently asking nodded and said "Everywhere."

Silay sucked in a breath, but nodded before turning his wand on the man. It took him quite a while to finish healing all the wounds the man had, it made him wonder how this wolf had gotten into such a state. There were more injuries here than could be accounted for, but it wasn't his business to question. He was just finishing up when he became aware of Harry watching him. The man, Remus was in a healing sleep now, so he cancelled the silencing charm.

"He was worse off than he let on wasn't he?" Harry asked. Silay just gave a short nod.

Harry sighed. "I'm sorry then."

"For what?" Asked Silay puzzled.

"I'm afraid I won't be going to the school…"

"No Mr Potter you will be."

"But…"

"He will come with us." Silay said firmly.

"But?"

Silay smiled. "He's one of us Harry."

"What?"

"I'm a Werewolf. Even though I've never met him before, he's still pack. Though Werewolves form smaller packs and have small conflicts the entire species classes itself as a pack. Us and them, the pure humans who are against all creatures and us. I've got to take him with me; he can be healed fully there. We can give him some potions to make his transformations more bearable and maybe even lessen some of the scarring."

"He won't go for that you know. Remus is proud. There's no way he'd accept all that help without paying you back and he can't afford that." Harry said silently thinking that he'd ask Silay why he wasn't in a similar state to Remus after the full moon.

"Well we'll have to take him to the Headmistress. She'll allow him to be healed. Then she'll talk to him, if he has any skills we can use she'll let him work for what he gains. If not he'll still be healed, his memory of the school wiped and dropped back off here. Without a debt to be paid. And in answer to the question I can see in your eyes we have a bloody good healer. Another thing is that the transformation is worse for a lone wolf. If he was a member of a pack it would be easier on him. Because of the number of werewolves at the school both the teachers and students form a temporary pack during their stay."

"Ok. Are we going now?" Harry asked after a slight pause, wanting to get Remus to a healer as soon as possible.

"Yes, I think we'd better." He said lifting Remus as easily as a bunch of grapes. While he was doing that, Harry tracked down his cat and stuffed him back in his carrier. After checking on Silvera he followed Silay outside and called to Hedwig and once she had landed on his shoulder Silay apparated all of them away.

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	6. Chapter 6

_**Summary**…Just days after the DOM a mysterious letter arrives and Harry is faced with a decision. Reject the offer and continue on the path Dumbledore has set for him or forge a new one and challenge every opinion ever forced on him. _

**SLASH. Creature fic, new school, Grey/Powerful Harry, possibility of Mpreg but will maybe take a vote on it… **

**Oh if anything else warning worthy develops I will put the warning in the authors note. I'll also try to highlight it in the text. K?**

_A/N…Right as stated in the summary this is **SLASH** so i would hope that anyone whose got to this point has got that by now, so remember if you don't_ _like it don't read it. **HBP and eventual DH **spoliers, but I think most people will have read that by now, so just in case. Will mention **Mpreg **but it isnt likely it will actually happen in the story. Could do but i doubt it. _

_Sorry I havent mentioned anybody here, i'm going to try and reply to everyones review directly instead of in the chapter. The only time i'll put a reply in the chapter is when it addresses something that I think needs explaining._

_**Pairing news... **OK I thought I'd give an update on the pairing. At the moment Remus is in front, followed by Oc's in general and then Bill and Charlie. _

_At the moment i'm not sure whether i'll just use the one with the most votes or whether i'll create a poll a bit further into the story when i've introduced some oc's. Anyway keep nominating and now onto the chapter. _

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_**Mysteria**_

**_Chapter Five_**

They arrived on a hillside, in the distance could be seen a great lake. Silay who was still holding Remus pointed.

"The lake is where the school is. You have to get there before seven or the doors will forever be closed to you."

Harry looked at him aghast. "You never mentioned that earlier."

He smirked. "No, we're not allowed to. Its tradition set down by the Founder of this school as unbreakable. Another test of weeding out the unworthy. Much like the no holidays trick. Out of the fifty students invited, probably less than forty will make it inside the door before it closes, probably only thirty. Every new student has inhibitor magic placed on them, so that they cannot see or gain help from their fellows. Injured or dead students may become visible but in those cases its best to leave the living ones alone as they've angered the Headmistress in some way. The removal of the spells signal that the students is from then on fair game. Even if they survive and manage to get inside the school the school will seek to hurt them more than others. It's meant as a deterrent and is an extreme form of punishment, it makes their survival harder. The Founder of this school gave the school its own personality but it was darker than he wanted so he had to inhibit it. Calfora will remove a student's protection if they deserve it. So don't help them, this is a solitary test. We have already tested your commitment, twice in fact. The no holidays test, and the last goodbye for three years. We will let you contact family via floo and letters."

"Why aren't we allowed to visit?" Harry asked, deciding that he needed to know the answer.

"The Founder believed that thoughts of a life at home distracted students from the purpose of learning and so discouraged it. This practice is still in force now. But I suggest I tell you all this later. You only have an hour and a half in which to make it to the school."

"Am I allowed to use a broom?"

"You are only allowed to take your wand with you. And summoning charms are inhibited because it would allow you to use something other than your wand and natural assets."

"So where is the school On an island in the lake?" he asked jokingly.

"Yes."

"Ah. Right then." Harry said, a little surprised. The lake wasn't big enough to have an island large enough to support a school. He felt like slapping a hand to his forehead, magic of course. Merlin he was an idiot.

"Good luck Harry."

Harry nodded. "Take care of Remus for me." Harry said before he set off walking.

Silay watched him for a moment before gathering together Harry's things and hugging the man Remus close, he then apparated away. This was a test of resourcefulness and quick thinking as much as strength. Without these traits graduation would be impossible. The boy would do well.

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Harry thought he had been walking for an hour, but in reality it had probably only been half of that. He just wanted to make it to the top of this hill, that particular thought had been his goal for the last ten minutes. Once he was at the top he would rest and think.

He finally reached the top of the hill and stared, it hardly seemed like he'd gone any distance at all. Looking at his watch it was nearly six o clock. He sat down heavily to think, absently stroking Silvera who had slithered out of his robes to take a look. Silay had taken Hedwig and Mir.

He had finally decided on a name for his cat while he was walking up the last hill. It was the name of the Witch who had invented the Wolfsbane potion but surely the sex of his name wouldn't matter to a cat.

Harry sat and thought, he didn't know whether to try flying with his wings but he didn't even know how to bring them out yet, let alone fly. He'd had a rough guess that it would take him twice as long to run as it would to fly. But there was a chance he would tire easily if he flew. He didn't want to rely on that completely, he couldn't summon a broom…could he transfigure one? Hhhmmm, he wasn't bad at transfiguration, he'd gotten much better over the last year and they said that when you received your full potential, subjects often became easier. He thought for a minute and took out his wand. Aiming it at a twig on the ground, he made it lengthen and thicken, but after he had done that he paused stumped. He had no idea what the spell was to animate a broom.

He sat back defeated. But then something else came to him. He couldn't transfigure a broom but he had done animals to objects and back. But on second thought he didn't think any of the spells he had learnt would help him here. The stick needed to fly.

He thought about what Silay had said, about him having an affinity with animals. He thought about trying to call one, like a horse. He tried but it didn't work. He thought about transfiguration, turning something into a horse, or even himself. But he didn't trust his abilities that far.

This left him with the first thing he'd considered, flying. But first he had to get his wings out. He tried standing and arching his back, feeling like a complete idiot, he tried willing them out, he tried jumping up and down trying to simulate flight, but none of them worked. He sighed.

He turned his attention to a bird that was nearby. He knew some birds dived off things to get height, but he didn't want to try that. He may be reckless but he wasn't suicidal. He watched the little bird on the hedge and noticed how its legs were almost constantly bent. Getting an idea he picked up Silvera and wrapped her tightly around his neck.

**_"Master?"_** She asked a little uncertainly.

_**"I'm going to try flying."**_

And without giving her chance to say anything further Harry crouched down and placed one hand upon the ground. Almost instinctively his spine arched, pushing his shoulders high. And then he leapt. He knew he'd done it the moment his feet left the floor. His wings unfurled from the guards, pushing through the little silver membranes.

With one downward beat of his wings he was away. Dimly he realised his tail was out too and that none of his clothes ripped but he saved his questions for later. He knew with this being his first flight he would tire easily, it was obvious. He also knew that a lot of birds spent their time gliding and he knew if he got high enough he should be able to do that too.

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"I told you the boy was smart Mistress." Silay said to the pale skinned, red haired woman beside him. Amika Calfora, known mainly as Calfora gazed at the picture of the young man making his way to their school.

"Yes he is. Not many so newly tuned to their powers could master their new appendages so well. He will fly far, if what you say is true about the boy's home-life. He will ignore the pain for a great while. He might even be the first one here this year."

"How are the others doing Mistress" One of the other teachers asked. Calfora waved her hand over the giant seeing web before them, the spider that had created it off hunting. She smiled after homing in on one of their shyest recruits.

"Neville Longbottom is doing surprisingly well." She added to the silence. Kire Halford, the Blood Magic tutor sighed happily, he was Neville's Mentor.

"Will he be here before the door closes?" he asked.

"Yes." She answered simply. Already turning to another student. "Hhhhmmm now this one may have trouble with the lake." She mused aloud.

"Who Mistress?" they asked her for she was the only one who could look into the web and see sense.

"The young fire caller, Melaisa."

"Understandable with her power." Her Mentor said defensively. Calfora smiled, Ah they grow attached so easily.

"I didn't say it wasn't Siva and I ask you to remember that you do not care for them, until they make it here. Disappointment and resentment are not good qualities in teachers who must still teach."

Chastened Siva bowed her head in submission. "Yes Mistress I apologise, I was out of order."

"Yes you were." Calfora agreed. "Now this one I doubt he will make it at all. His arrogance blinds him to the dangers."

This time no one spoke, not asking her for a name. Of those not to make it she never spoke. It was hard enough to know the child you had chaperoned for the day may be turned away at the door. It was even harder knowing the child might have died. All of the teachers were in agreement that they didn't want names in this case, as without the names of the dead they could continue to believe that their students were alive somewhere just not at the school.

"Mistress." One timidly spoke. "Have any reached the first defences yet?"

"No." she changed the view in the web so that it made a wider sweep. "Mr Potter draws close. We shall see now if he's as arrogant as our friend claims."

Not once while she was speaking did her eyes stray from the web, she opened herself to it more, ready to relay the events to her staff as they happened.

"He should be feeling it now…"

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Harry had been trying to calm Silvera down since he took off. She didn't like flying at all and was currently hiding her head in his robes. But he wasn't worrying about her now. He was growing more and more dejected with each wing beat, the beats slowing down as he tried to clear his head of the thoughts there. The voice in his head was sweet and comforting.

_"Turn back, turn back now."_

_"You have done well, there is nothing to be ashamed of."_

_"Life here isn't for you and there's nothing wrong with that."_

_"Turn back little one."_

The voice in his head was soothing, feminine almost motherly but somehow he knew it could turn vicious. In his head a name came to him breaking the enchantment. Calfora!

He shook himself, Calfora, he knew that name. The Headmistress. It was a mind game, testing him trying to force him to give up.

He wouldn't give up. Even as he said that he shivered, his thoughts turning darker.

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"He has passed the first line. He has reached the Dementors." No one said anything, they knew the tactics of the schools pack of Dementors very well. They would try to overwhelm him swooping in for his memories, driving him lower and lower. Weakening him, staying above him until he reached the lake where he would be easy prey for the inferi.

Silay looked a little grim, he took the threat seriously, but he wasn't worried. Harry could do it, he knew it.

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Harry recognised the cold almost hopeless feeling before he saw them. The Dementors were descending from out of the sky to surround him as they had done before, hundreds of them. Deciding that tiring himself out was preferable to having his soul sucked out, he dived suddenly almost straight down. Instinctively landing in a crouch, timing it so his wings were half closed as his feet touched the ground; he snapped them shut a moment later.

He had landed on a small hillock, he was very close to the lake now, a minutes flying time away he guessed. He took out his wand, trying to decide what memory to use.

He waited until they were all pretty close before casting _Expecto Patronum._

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"Oh my." Calfora whispered.

"What is it Mistress?" Silay asked, anxious for his charge.

"What power he has." She said, her eyes still glued to the web. "You will have your hands full with this one Silay."

"The Dementors did not stop him?" One of the teachers asked.

"Stop him." Calfora smirked. "They didn't even phase him."

"He doesn't even need to face the inferi now does he?" Silay asked smiling.

"No he doesn't. He is already flying high above the lake again. He will be onto the third line of defence soon."

"The island will let him pass though, if he's got this far." Kire said. "Only those worthy enough make it to our door."

"Yes. Our numbers will not be high this year." Calfora stated.

Everyone was silent at her proclamation. No one wanted to think that their student might not make it.

"How many have we lost?" the question was one they were all asking silently.

"Three have died and two will get no further than where they are now. Four more will not make it to our doors. The others turned away. Twenty six will remain to be taught."

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	7. Chapter 7

_**Summary**…Just days after the DOM a mysterious letter arrives and Harry is faced with a decision. Reject the offer and continue on the path Dumbledore has set for him or forge a new one and challenge every opinion ever forced on him. _

**SLASH. Creature fic, new school, Grey/Powerful Harry, possibility of Mpreg but will maybe take a vote on it… **

**Oh if anything else warning worthy develops I will put the warning in the authors note. I'll also try to highlight it in the text. K?**

_A/N…Right as stated in the summary this is **SLASH** so i would hope that anyone whose got to this point has got that by now, so remember if you don't_ _like it don't read it. **HBP and eventual DH **spoliers, but I think most people will have read that by now, so just in case. Will mention **Mpreg **but it isnt likely it will actually happen in the story. Could do but i doubt it. _

_Sorry I havent mentioned anybody here, i'm going to try and reply to everyones review directly instead of in the chapter. The only time i'll put a reply in the chapter is when it addresses something that I think needs explaining._

_**Pairing news... **OK everyone I've decided to take nominations for a while longer, intorduce more ocs and then i'll start a poll. K? Or do you just want me to go with whoever gets most votes._

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_**Mysteria**_

**_Chapter Six_**

Harry was tiring and badly. He'd been flying over the lake for a while now. The lake was only small, but that was clearly a distraction. The island was here and the lake must be larger than it appeared. It had to support the school's foundations and provide enough land to make the school self sufficient enough to escape detection. It had to have its own food sources, as well as herds of animals for meat and dairy. And there also had to be a muggle community to provide blood for the vampires, unless the vampires fed solely off the students and teachers which didn't seem possible to him, as vampires needed a pint of blood three times a day. And unless they wanted to kill their hosts they must have three separate donors in one day.

There also had to be extensive and safe grounds for the Werewolves to roam on the full moon. And the other species would all have specific requirements as well. Witches and Wizards with elemental powers were taught here, Silay had explained that much. It was dangerous for them to have unsupervised learning and no other school had resident Master's in the Art as it was considered too dangerous by the Ministerial Governments of each Country. Silay had told him this and other things while they looked at weapons.

A fire elemental for instance would need access to a place with natural fire, any demons would also share this accommodation. The water elementals needed access to flowing, clean water and the more powerful they were the larger and faster the water body needed. Earth elementals needed pure ground and air elementals often needed high altitude and high winds.

He had been given that information in Care of Magical Creatures, as even though they were humans with unusual powers people all over the world still believed that they weren't human and therefore didn't have the same rights as a witch, wizard or muggle.

Harry hated that but couldn't do anything about it. Not yet anyway. So with all that it was a reasonable assumption that the island had to be pretty massive. Now if he could just find it. He knew it had to be under secrecy charms and other things but he already knew it was there so why couldn't he see it.

Deciding that he had no choice he dropped lower to the surface of the water but veered sharply upwards when he saw the white shapes beneath the water, he didn't know what they were but he definitely didn't like them or want to be caught by them. The only problem was that the moment he did his wing joints flared with pain and he dropped a foot in response.

Dead hands reached up out of the water for him, he had to veer to avoid them, his body tilting to the side and often his wing tips grazed outstretched fingers. Luckily they were slippery and couldn't get a hold of the sleek feathers. He was trying to gain a bit of height in a sudden lessening of lunges, but then he seemed to hit some sort of barrier that enveloped him like jelly. He broke through into a much brighter world.

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"He is inside the wards, now the real tests begin."

The teachers were silent at Calfora's words, while Silay allowed himself a small smile at Harry's triumph before his face again became impassive. There was still a way to go.

"Our other students are mixed." She began again after changing the view of the web again. "I am very disappointed in the vampire contingent this year. Few have been able to make any distance without hunting. Sunlight may be debilitating to them but this is unacceptable in Mysteria. If I could close our doors to some I would. Then again quality seems to be lacking altogether this year. Out of the twenty six who will live to be taught I believe hardly more than half will survive to the graduation."

She shook her head, she had been in charge of this school for many a year and knew that unless some of these students developed drastically most would be killed by the other students or the tasks they had to perform. Mysteria was a real life institution, its name showing its view of the world. Anything could happen in it and it wasn't always good.

Those students lucky enough to graduate from her walls were all capable leaders, she would settle for nothing less. Whether or not they took up that mantle was their choice. They had to learn not only to give life and take life but to live it as well. All of their students were powerful but many of them had problems, some like Mr Longbottom were shy and downtrodden, some had been ruined by overindulgent parents and there were even rare individuals like Mr Potter who had suffered in a variety of ways.

That was the reason for the one on one mentoring, their founder had realised that every student who came through their door would have different problems and would need different handling and training. It bothered her sometimes that the high standards also set down by their founder resulted in the tense atmosphere that permeated the school.

The new students would soon realise that nothing was set in stone at this school. They learnt to adapt or they left, it was as simple as that. The manner in which they left was stipulated by their strength.

Some died and some just left, but how many? From the point that they stepped through the door it was up to them how well they did and they didn't always realise the stakes were set so high.

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Harry flared his wings in shock, he was on a beach! Were there supposed to be beaches of this size on an island in the middle of a lake? Either way it didn't matter, he didn't have that much time before the doors closed. After a few minutes of thought he decided to get himself back in the air. He needed to see where he was going and he wasn't about to walk off into a thick wood where he could be easily attacked. He'd probably had it much easier than anyone else, being able to fly had helped him. Neville didn't have that, he hoped his friend would make it. Having someone he already knew would be great but he realised Neville needed this much more than he did. Luckily the other boys training with the DA had improved not only his spell casting but his physical fitness.

His own muscles were protesting now, hell if he were honest they'd been protesting all day, he knew he should stop but he really wanted to get to this school, he could always heal afterwards but he had to get into that school.

The forest stretched before him for ages, ending in the sudden sharp rise of a cliff. It took him a while but eventually his wings took him to the top after that he couldn't fly anymore but luckily the top of the cliff afforded him a nice view of where he needed to be. Several meadows bordered by very small woods lay between him and a low cliff with a jagged path up it. And on top of it was a wall of black marble, broken only by arches of white. It had to be marble the way it glowed.

After a quick glance at his watch Harry set off at a brisk walk, it was all he could manage at the moment.

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"So our first student has crossed the wards." A teacher mused, happy at the prospect of training someone like him.

Calfora smiled to herself, she was looking forward to training Mr Potter herself. The child's destiny had marked him as special and he was seen as such by many but it was the soul that truly made a person extraordinary. The personality of a person and the choices they made led to the changes in the world, whether for good or evil each action shaped it.

This boy was powerful and had had a harsh life but he remained innocent and unblemished by the darker aspects of the world. Perfect for balancing out the increase in the dark forces.

"Have any of the other students flown?" Kire asked.

"Only one has the ability." She answered automatically changing the view to focus on the young man in question. "The demon Chrysan is moments away from passing the wards. His magic is quite impressive and since he has not gone through Mr. Potters...ah difficulties he should pass him by pretty quickly. Two others are also inside the wards. Mr Longbottom is close behind, the boy is smarter than he has appeared and is finally showing it. He reached the lakeshore some time ago and seems to have realised that the creatures in the water are inferi. I now know why he is a Gryffindor, he knows he has little time left and is brave enough to take a chance…Very smart."

"What has he done?" Kire asked anxious for his student.

"Cast a glamour on himself to appear dead and taken Gillyweed from the shallows. As our inferi are quite active he is passing completely un-noticed. Very smart, very brave."

She spent a few moments more watching the other students. "Might I suggest that the mentors of Mr Potter, Mr Longbottom and Chrysan head to the Entrance Hall."

The three in question bowed to her before leaving the room. The others waited for their Headmistress to speak again.

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He passed the fields and trees by, sending grazing deer running. The path was steep but not terribly difficult. It was little wider than a metre with a steep drop to its side, but it was well maintained. Never once did he feel in danger of falling. As long as he kept his pace measured and didn't stumble.

At the top of the cliff the wall stretched in every direction, only two metres from the edge the wall was pure black, smooth and polished marble. The veins that sometimes appeared in the stone were just a lighter version of the colours. The white arches that he had glimpsed were recessed sections. No visible arch led through the wall.

He dimly remembered a film Dudley had been watching once, a woman running through a maze, no a labyrinth and a little worm telling her to look at the walls differently. Should he do that here or just try going in one direction. Well, he didn't have a worm but…

**_"Silvera."_**

**_"Yes Master?"_**

**_"Would you happen to have any idea which direction I should go?"_**

**_"Hhhmmm…"_** She shifted her head from side to side, her tongue flicking out to taste the air.

**_"I should say left Master."_**

**_"Thank you, Silvera._**

He took her advice and the further he went the more he noticed strange things. Faces in the marble, fleeting glimpses of wispy figures. He ignored them and hurried on and if he was careful not to touch the wall who would know.

The change when he came to it was sudden, he passed a filled arch expecting the next to be the same. But it wasn't, this arch was a way in. It was almost tunnel-like this opening. Its walls were still black marble. The only difference was that instead of the dirt track he'd been following, the floor inside it was white marble. He hesitated a moment, looking for traps, depressions in the walls. He saw none, but that meant nothing. On his way he had seen many traps, pitfalls and rocks set to fall in his path or upon him. But luckily these traps weren't meant for students, as he was sure there were many more that he hadn't seen.

The moment he walked beneath the arch he felt the magic rush forward to envelope him. The soft crackle of static electricity across his skin, or at least that's what it made him think of, soothed him. The air beyond the threshold was dark, cool and refreshing. Dark because the black marble that dominated the outside also surrounded him here. He was walking on a pathway of white marble surrounded by black, he could almost believe he was walking in the snow at night time.

The corridor continued on for some time, the white marble catching the day light at either end, lighting his way perfectly. The floor was slightly slanted and just wide enough to permit a small wagon's passage or three people walking in a line. He knew this was a defence as much as the surrounding walls and the moat he had already passed. He knew that in this case any invaders would be hemmed in and less able to fight. The marble was also a defence, the stone was smooth and polished until it was hard enough to find purchase on it but with a few spells it could be made into something infinitely more treacherous.

Harry remembered well the old linoleum covered floors in his old muggle school, the walls on either side were heavily windowed and when it was cold outside and warm inside the condensation ran down the windows and onto the floor. And when the water leaked in from a recent rainstorm it was even worse, the floor became perilous. He remembered well all the students treading gingerly and holding on to each other just to make it to class, there were many slips and falls along the way. In the frenzied atmosphere of an attack there would be crushes and people being trampled, if there were physical weapons and not just wands then there would be injuries associated with them as well. Harry had no doubt in his mind that the winding path he had followed to get to the school was littered with traps also. Any attackers would be thoroughly demoralised and disorganised by this point and then they'd have to meet any organised resistance the school could muster.

It was a smart arrangement and he had no doubt that the exit mirrored the entrance, with its roughly hewn rock on either side of the arch spelled to fall at a moment's notice.

Harry stopped for a moment, the light from the distant exit clearly visible now. Was it strange that he was noticing all these defences? Was that the only way he thought anymore? He started walking again.

He may not like it, but thinking that way might save his life one day. He looked at this place and he looked at Hogwarts and though both buildings were schools he saw few similarities between them.

This place it awoke the same feelings in him as Hogwarts had done. He truly didn't know in which place he belonged or in fact whether he belonged anywhere but he didn't regret leaving Hogwarts to come here. Mysteria was such an apt name for a place like this. The marbles, the flowers, the sinister forest, it all came together to create a place so unique it sang with magic.

It was a haven for both kinds of magic's and seemed more alive than Hogwarts because of it. The familiar routine of nothing but light magic now seemed stifling to him when compared with this. This was what magic should feel like, that mixture of both light and dark…that was what it was all about.

He reached the end of the way, the change in light hindered his vision and that was when he was attacked.

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He thanked Merlin everyday thereafter for the quick reflexes and senses of the creature he had become. The moment he felt the change in the air before him his body dropped to the ground, it was an instinctive reaction on his part from living with the Dursley's. His creature instincts rose to the fore and latched onto his thinking mind with a vice grip, a moment later he was dodging away from another blow but even as he rolled he was planning. He felt his attacker follow him and took his chance.

He snapped his wings out, slamming the frame into the figures unprotected stomach. The wings then twisted away even as his legs swept around and took out the attackers own. His attacker dropped like a stone but made no sound, catching the attention of his creature. He focused more closely then, he heard no breathing, felt no heart beat in the air. He looked around him realising he was on a manicured lawn but there was no attacker in sight.

Had it been real?

He looked around again. _Real enough_ he thought grimly as the sight of the body registered. It was a girl, or at least he thought so…it was either a very Bulstrode like girl or a Bulstrode like boy, either way it wasn't attractive but with a severed neck it was even less so.

The body lay at an awkward angle, one leg bent unnaturally the other snapped. Along with the severed neck was an obvious thing for such a wound, a copious amount of blood.

_Blood that he hadn't smelled._ Now that was strange.

He stepped closer, keeping a sharp eye on the shadows of the doorway. He had his nose almost pressed against the wound before he smelled the coppery odour that heralded the red.

_Why is blood said to have a coppery taste, surely the taste is iron since iron is in the blood?_

_That's a fine thing to be thinking about right now! Idiot._

The corpse was fresh that was obvious and it hadn't been dragged. Since there were no tracks in the grass other than the ones directly next to the body, it was obvious it had been picked up and brought out of sight, most probably from the same place he was attacked. But what had done the killing?

He didn't know but whatever it was it would probably come back the moment another student left the arch. Deciding that it was better to leave than stick around and get attacked again he started walking down the central and largest path.

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He realised after a few minutes that the white framework he had been admiring, the one that reached far above his head and bracketed the path. The framework that held up a multitude of vines on which grew multicoloured flowers was more than what he had first thought. He knew the moment he passed a cluster of white flowers and found a bony hand in its centre. And just above a polished skull marked in black ink, runes of some kind surrounding the eye sockets making the thing appear quite tribal. Upon closer inspection the hand also revealed the same runes upon its palm. Or what would have been its palm.

He now knew what had attacked him; spectral forms of dead students, those who hadn't made it past this first step. Long dead or just dead this past year it didn't matter and each year the framework would just be built higher and higher, until a new framework was began somewhere else. How many bones littered the grounds of this school?

With that to guard its entrance no wonder they didn't bother with doors or a portcullis. Even though it was ghastly it was still quite beautiful. It wasn't the usual clichéd view of a dungeon with its manacled skeletons dangling from chain links, not that that was even possible in the first place. The moment the skin and tissues were gone from them the bones would just fall apart, no longer held together by strips of flesh they would become brittle and fall to the ground and crack.

No this was a much nicer way of displaying the dead. The flowers themselves were mixed and random as though the person that they surrounded only permitted their favourites to grow.

He hurried on his eye often being caught by glints of polished metal amongst the multitude of greens, the stark whites and the multitude of colours, but he didn't reach for the rings or weapons that he saw.

He wasn't so dumb as that and was quite thankful that he hadn't when he came across a boy no older than himself trying to free his hand from the teeth embedded in his flesh.

Now that was actually surprising, if he was expecting anything it would have been for the skeletal hand to grab the boys own, after all that was what happened in every single cheesy horror or moderately scary film as a way of upping the tension. Well it just didn't work on him; he knew when it was coming in films so he could definitely avoid it in real life if he chose.

He passed the boy without looking at him but he did give the idiot some advice.

"If you want to get free I suggest you cut off your hand. It used to be the standard punishment for thieves in the past but I doubt a bit of time would deter them here."

He continued on his way, keeping his senses open. The only other thought he had on the boy was that if he did escape the trap, whether it be the way he suggested or in some other, the boy would bear watching. After all stealing from a skinless corpse in a magical school wasn't an endearing trait in a character, it was underhanded, treacherous and downright stupid. And that could be quite a deadly combination if the right person manipulated it. The whole Pettigrew and Voldemort thing was a prime example of that.

He left the gruesome arbour behind eventually, seeing no other living soul but often hearing rustling and strange voices at his side or behind. He was prepared for something to grab him at any moment and kept his arms tucked in close to his body but he didn't have to worry. He didn't gain any of the skeleton's ire but somebody did, he heard their distant screams.

The path led him out of the arbour and into an orchard, a very large orchard and the air immediately turned stifling. He knew why of course, there was no way Banana's or Oranges could grow so well here in England without a little magical help. He wasn't expecting to be attacked here, not with the possibility of damaging the fruit and he wasn't attacked not really. He was warned away from trees when the path took him too close, he heard the angry calls of birds and a creaking of wooden limbs which was actually quite eerie in the silence.

No what was worrying him more was the temperature, he was sure that it was a trick of the mind but with every step he took he thought it got hotter and hotter. He walked on wishing he could get out of there, the heat was unbearable, he knew it wasn't possible, if it were real the trees would be wilting, the fruit spoiling and they weren't. So they were playing with his mind. He knew that but he still let out a pleased sigh when he saw the water trough beside the Apple tree.

A whispered conversation with Silvera assured him that she detected no poison or any other substance in the water. He bent down and used his cupped hands to scoop up the water.

A low but violent hissing came to his ears, thinking it to be Silvera he stood to check on her when out of the corner of his eye he spotted a flash of violent orange. He jerked back instinctively. An orange head with black banding appeared from the tall grass, this was joined by two others.

"Shit."

Harry said backing up again. He may be able to talk to snakes but he didn't feel like trying to talk a Runespoor out of killing him.

**_"Who dares drink from my water?"_** said the first, the right head, the Planner. His voice sly and soft.

**_"Who dares drink from our water?"_** said the Dreamer, the middle head in a voice not unlike Luna Lovegoods.

**_"Who dares drink from my water?"_** said the last. The Critic, the left head and a snake that sounded remarkably like Snape.

The Planner hissed at the Critic while the Dreamer ducked its head and spoke.

**_"This is ours and no two leg is going to take it from me."_**

Despite the situation Harry felt his lips twitch, this snake had a serious identity crisis.

**_"Who dares threaten my Master?"_** Silvera hissed, poking her head out from beneath his shirt where she'd been sleeping.

**_"Your Master little one presumes to drink from_**_ our** water."**_ The Planner hissed.

_**"**Your** water. You should be bowing down to my Master."**_

**_"And why should I be doing that?"_** The Critic asked.

Harry was quite curious as to what reason Silvera would actually give.

**_"My Master is a speaker."_** Harry nearly laughed her tone of voice suggested the other snake was most stupid for not knowing this.

**_"Speaker? Prove this!"_** That last couldn't be mistaken for anything other than an order. And considering it was the Critic that again spoke, Harry felt like he should be searching for a potions essay.

**_"What would you wish me to say?"_** Harry smirked at the sight of all three heads rearing back in shock.

**_"Come closer human snake so that we might know thee better."_** Harry hesitated which was not lost on the Runespoor. **_"We will not hurt one who speaks my tongue nor would we touch someone so claimed."_** Said the Dreamer. The Runespoor then bowed its three heads in Silvera's direction.

Harry did as the snake asked, he was a little agitated to say the least when the snake raised itself and flicked all three tongues over every inch of his face.

**_"So like him."_** the snake muttered.

Curious now Harry asked…**_"So like who?"_**

**_"My old Master, the founder of this school. Your form is like him, you taste like him also."_** Harry's eyes widened in surprise.

**_"Who was he?"_** He asked.

**_"I know not. Snakes do not understand human speech well I never knew a name and whenever I thought of him he was Master. Only Master."_** Harry nodded, a little disappointed but he should be able to find out at the school.

**_"Would you visit?"_** The snake asked. **_"There aren't many snakes who will converse with me."_**

Harry hesitated a moment but then agreed. He went on his way with a promise to come and find the snake in the orchard whenever he could. And he also gained a promise in return…that if he sensed a boy that showed excitement at the trees, he was to let that boy pass unharmed as he was a friend.

He knew he could have asked for safe passage for all the students but he didn't think the snake would be particularly receptive to the idea.

After leaving the orchard he passed through more extensive grounds, large rock gardens and artful ponds, again with the odd skull or leg bone motif. He passed by a veritable city of greenhouses and knew that Neville would have to tear himself away from them. He passed a lake, the bones of a large dragon half in and half out of the water. He stayed well away from it just in case it was like the others he'd passed, able to come alive. He was quite glad he had done later as he wasn't entirely sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him but he still thought he'd seen it wink! How could a dragon's skull wink?

After that he saw no more bones, he saw only manicured lawns and perfectly trimmed trees. His next problem came when he reached what was obviously the practice grounds. His arrival was marked by a volley of arrows aiming for him whenever he set foot out of the bushes. He tried to use a freezing charm on them and it did work, but whenever he stepped out of hiding they (whoever they were) just loosed more arrows. So giving up he stuck to the bushes surrounding the field and took the long way around. He passed an obstacle course and a running track, as well as several training dummies that looked like they would knock seven bells out of him instead of the other way around.

He startled many a bird and rabbit and wondered if they would be learning to hunt and skin them in survival skills? Not an idea he was particularly comfortable with, when he was a little kid he had associated every rabbit he saw with Thumper, Bambi's best friend. Great childhood he must have had if the only film he could remember watching was a video they'd watched in school.

Anyway he passed even more formal gardens and wondered why he hadn't even seen the school yet, surely as large a building as he thought this to be would be visible by now?

And then he passed through a line of old oaks, which surely reached as high as the heavens and saw his school before him.

The pathway he had followed off and on since he left the arch had been black and white marble pieces in mismatched stone shapes. This continued on now to the school. The building was surrounded by open grass and in the distance behind it were agricultural fields. Containing corn and vegetables galore and herds of animals, like sheep, cows and pigs. There were even some free running horses. Some ordinary, some more majestic than you would get with muggle breeding and some even more clearly magical. He saw the snow white coats of the Unicorns and the darkest black coats of a breed he didn't recognise that never seemed to stray too far from the water's edge.

There was a black stallion stood proudly beside the path, one foot on the shore, his others resting on the bed of the lake that surrounded the school. The path led to a black and white marble bridge, raised high from the surface of the water by a series of pillars. The bridge itself didn't go straight it went diagonal across the lake, a monument of ancient architecture.

Even though the marble still gleamed you could still sense the age in it.

The bridge ended at a semi circle of a landing that housed two trees, both as black as ebony covered in twining vines as white as bone. The trees framed the large double doors. The doors themselves were white with a black motif, made to stand out against the stark black of the Castle's walls. Patterns, lintels and window ledges were the only white on an otherwise black surface. The same went for the white walls of the inner segments that had only black details.

There were more towers and turrets than even Hogwarts had, a lot of the building was open plan, with columns and open planned courtyards. It made him think of both a medieval castle and a roman villa, it appeared a perfect marriage between the two.

It was beautiful, if anyone tried to recreate it they would not succeed. As it was now it was perfect, not too cramped like Hogwarts often appeared to be. It's walls descending past the surface of the lake, no visible joining to land. A building in the middle of a lake. No land visible, just lake.

Surely this could only be achieved by magic?

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	8. Chapter 8

_**Summary**…Just days after the DOM a mysterious letter arrives and Harry is faced with a decision. Reject the offer and continue on the path Dumbledore has set for him or forge a new one and challenge every opinion ever forced on him. _

**SLASH. Creature fic, new school, Grey/Powerful Harry, possibility of Mpreg but will maybe take a vote on it… **

**Oh if anything else warning worthy develops I will put the warning in the authors note. I'll also try to highlight it in the text. K?**

_A/N…Right as stated in the summary this is **SLASH** so i would hope that anyone whose got to this point has got that by now, so remember if you don't_ _like it don't read it. **HBP and eventual DH **spoliers, but I think most people will have read that by now, so just in case. Will mention **Mpreg **but it isnt likely it will actually happen in the story. Could do but i doubt it. _

_Sorry I havent mentioned anybody here, i'm going to try and reply to everyones review directly instead of in the chapter. The only time i'll put a reply in the chapter is when it addresses something that I think needs explaining._

_**Pairing news... **Lol, votes it is. Right I am introducing a few more ocs over the next chapter and also the third Hogwarts student will be revealed. I will continue to accept votes for a while yet. But I was wondering if everyone could give me their opinions on something else. A reviewer mentioned the fic being a threesome, now I dont really see this as a threesome fic but I was wondering what everyones opinion was on this?_

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_**Mysteria**_

**_Chapter Seven_**

Harry stared for a moment more but finally shook himself free from its spell. Glancing down at his watch he realised that he still had just over fifteen minutes to get through the doors. Plenty of time to stare but there might be a final test. And he could stare all he wanted when he was a student. He couldn't run anymore though, all he could do was walk. He followed the path, not wishing to risk stepping off the stones. The path headed down to the water and followed the edge for a short distance before meeting the bridge which slowly ascended above the water.

Reaching the edge of the water he was halted by one of the black stallions. It didn't block the path but stood with one foot upon the stones, the others in the shallows of the water.

'Do you wish a ride the last few feet to the castle?'

The words seemed to enter his head with ease; the speech more invasive than any other. Even parseltongue, when the words were spoken and translated without conscious thought.

"Er no thank you." He said not trusting the stallion one bit. There was something at the back of his mind. He should know what the creature was but he couldn't remember.

He was followed after he edged past the creature, upon closer examination the horses mane and tail seemed to be made of seaweed and bulrushes. That struck another chord but the name still eluded him.

It followed his path, never more than a pace away from him. It made him uneasy. He felt Silvera stir against his skin; she had fallen asleep again earlier. But then again Silay had told him she was a baby still, so he didn't expect anything different from her at the moment.

"Master, why is a Kelpie following us?"

"A Kelpie!"

He yelled and broke into a run trying to get away from the creature but it followed. How could he have forgotten the forms Kelpies took on to play their games. A short while later he left the Kelpie behind, ignoring the dejected look the creature shot him when he refused to let it drown and devour him.

Wanting to get to the school he decided to run the length of the bridge until he reached the landing with the two trees.

He was out of breath at the end. He stood a moment, doubled over and leaning against the trunk of the nearest tree. The black marble of the walls before him gleamed brightly and dazzled his eyes. And the white vines that surrounded the black trees tickled his back. The white oak doors stood before him with their black motifs, runes for protection and strength among others.

Once his breath settled he crossed to the door and tried the handle. It didn't open. He checked the watch, he still had over ten minutes. There had to be some weird time wards on this part of the island, surely it had taken him longer than that! Thinking for a moment he decided to try knocking. The door swung open on the second rap.

Once he crossed the threshold the door slammed shut behind him. The entrance hall was quite large, easily as large as Hogwarts. But it did appear bigger due to being open planned. Instead of being a closed off room with a few doors and the Grand staircase like at Hogwarts, the room had only one solid wall with one door, the one he'd come through. The other three were walls of columns a metre apart, each joined to the one next to it by arched walls. A metre above the arches the side walls caved inwards until they met in the centre with another arch. The ceiling of the Arched Hall as he later found out it was called, had an enchanted ceiling much like the Great Hall only clearer and more defined. The daytime sky and a few floating candles and standing candelabras were the only sources of light.

Through the arches opposite he could see a staircase, even grander than the one at Hogwarts. On either side of this staircase were open plan courtyards. He could see the sky when he looked through. But he knew it was fake, just like the ceiling above his head.

He didn't know what to do, should he just wait here?

A slight noise to his left had him spinning around and drawing his wand. He hadn't seen anyone else when he'd looked that way a moment ago.

The figure that faced him was his age, well he guessed he was but with the species it was hard to tell. It wasn't a regular wizard that stood before him. Not unless wizards of other countries had ice blue skin and long, white blonde hair the colour of a wraiths. And he was willing to bet they didn't have gigantic bat-like wings that were white but with tinges of blue and lilac when the light hit them. The others eyes were dark blue, there was a depth to them that shouldn't be possible in an eye. He had claws on the ends of his fingers which he had painted black. Harry's inspection took his eyes lower but he brought them back up immediately when he realised that the other man was wearing nothing but a short loincloth that only just covered his ah...assets.

He glanced back up in time to see a quick grin and a flash of sharp fangs. He had to be a demon, yep there's the forked tail.

Realising he was staring he broke his eyes away and looked down. The chuckle when it came was deep and seemed to roll over him and hit every nerve making him shiver. He felt the membranes that guarded his wings and tail twitch slightly.

"Greetings little one I'm Chrysan." He said as he stepped forward, holding a hand out.

"I'm Harry." He said as he placed his hand in Chrysans'. He ignored the small tingle that seemed to pass up his spine at the contact. "And I'm not little." He added defiantly even as he looked up into the demon's eyes.

Just then they were interrupted by the door opening.

"Neville!"

"Harry!" Neville laughed happily jumping up and down. "I did it, I made it."

"Knew you could do it mate." Harry said slapping him on the back after Neville had timidly stepped nearer. "Nev this is Chrysan, Chrysan this is Neville."

He knew his introductions left a lot to be desired but he didn't really care. He stood back as the two made a better job of it. Then Neville seemed to get a good look at him.

"Harry what did you do?"

"Huh?"

"You didn't look like that this morning Harry."

"What? Oh yeh, sorry Neville." He said sheepishly. "I got a makeover, sick of both looking like a scruffy little sod and a James Potter look alike. I don't mind looking like my Dad but it did get a little annoying you know."

Neville shook his head. "Well you'd already changed quite a bit when I saw you this morning. I'd say you look more like your Mother now than your Dad. You have his chin and nose." He said remembering the photo's his Gran had showed him of his parents with their friends. "But you've definitely got your Mum's eyes and cheekbones." He laughed. "I'd say the lips were hers as well."

"You trying to say I look like a girl Neville." He said dangerously. Neville just grinned though.

"Not a girl, no." Chrysan interrupted. "A very refined young man maybe." He smirked.

"Oh great now there's two of you." Harry said throwing up his hands. The two boys just grinned at each other, Neville completely forgetting his nervousness from earlier.

"Fascinating as this discussion is I feel as though I must break it up." They turned to see who had spoken and found a slim black haired man leaning against an arch. Behind him just leaving the staircase were Master Kire and Silay. The black haired guy had to be Chrysan's mentor. He was very pale, obviously a vampire.

"Come Chrysan I must show you to your room before the feast. I assume you do not need a healer."

Chrysan smirked and shook his head before turning to Harry and Neville.

"See you at the feast." He said before leaving.

By then Kire and Silay had reached the arches. Silay smiled and beckoned them forward.

"Don't worry about Rane, he doesn't like to admit it but he does care for his students. He'll be questioning that boy for the next twenty minutes on what he did and how he feels." Kire smiled.

"He does have a point though." Silay said as the door began to open again. "It is time to take our students to their rooms." He took hold of Harry's shoulder and began steering him towards the stairs as the door opened up to admit a red headed girl and another dark haired girl who came in not a moment behind her. The first girl spotted the second out of the corner of her eye, jumped and ran a couple of steps before catching herself.

Harry had to look away before he started laughing; he knew he'd have done the same thing. Especially after making his way here. As Silay led him up the stairs, he heard the door open several more times.

"The ground floor level which we are leaving now does not house any classrooms. This area is reserved for students to congregate in and leads to the dining hall. This area is mainly for the students to use during breaks and to meet up with their friends on a night. If you went into the left courtyard you would see a door that would give you access to our library. On the right is a common room for you to retreat to. Also on that side is the corridor that leads you to the dining hall. And incidentally behind that is the teacher's wing with their rooms and joint offices. I'll be coming to get you in the morning and take you to my office as we'll have some things to take care of."

Harry nodded absently. Like Hogwarts the staircase walls hosted several paintings, though not nearly as many, probably not even half. At the top of the stairs they faced another large staircase but Silay didn't take him up it. Instead he took Harry down the right hand corridor.

"On the left side is access to the second floor of the library. You won't need that unless you are accepted for an apprenticeship. On this side is the infirmary."

As soon as he said that they stopped. Inside the infirmary there were a couple of students in their beds, resting after just being healed. One of them he realised was the boy who'd gotten his hand stuck after trying to steal something. He seemed to have taken Harry's advice and cut off his hand. The Medi-Witch was just giving him a new hand, silver like the one Wormtail had.

"That boys an idiot." Harry whispered.

"Oh he is." Silay agreed.

"He tried to steal some jewellery or something in the arbour." Harry continued.

"And now he's paying the price." Silay chuckled. "Calfora hates thieves, she'll allow the castle free reign on him."

"Why the silver hand though?" Harry found himself asking.

Silay glanced at him before answering. "It was a sign of a person's status in the olden days. The silver limb indicates he can't be trusted. Other colours show other things. It's almost a mark in a way. That hand can never be removed it will tell everyone he meets that he can't be trusted. Gold is usually used in the case of services rendered. If they lost it in the line of duty and things like that, like if a Manticore they were trying to put down ate it or something. Then again in most cases now the limb or whatever can be reattached but in cases such as his they never are. Besides the arbour wouldn't have given him his hand back even if he'd just brushed a necklace while walking by it."

"Is he really a thief then?" Harry asked, thinking how apt the silver hand was for Pettigrew.

"Oh yes." Silay replied. "She wouldn't have given him the limb otherwise; she'd have regenerated the tissues and formed a new hand."

"How did he get here before me though?" Harry asked puzzling over it.

"Injured students who pass the door are immediately apparated straight to the infirmary. I think he came in just after you."

"But who apparated him?"

"The school. Since he made it through the door she'd want to keep him alive so she could play with him some more. The school has a consciousness and can be quite vicious against those she doesn't like."

Harry's head was reeling, they'd always wondered about Hogwarts but he'd never really thought that a building could have a consciousness and now he found out it was possible. Then he saw who they were headed towards.

"Remus how are you feeling?" He asked rushing forward, the older man stood and enveloped him in a hug.

"I'm doing just fine cub. How are you, did you get injured?" Harry shook his head quickly.

"No Silay has just brought me to see you. I'm just a little tired I think."

"Good, I can't believe you've left Hogwarts. But I don't blame you for doing it. I'm quite proud of you for making the decision and getting here in one piece I have no doubt you'll graduate."

"Thanks Remus. Wait a minute, how do you know about this place?"

"I came here Harry, before Silay started as a student I believe."

"You went here but how?"

Remus chuckled. "I was sick of feeling an outcast in Hogwarts, I had my friends yes but when I wasn't with them I never felt like I belonged. You'd be surprised who else went here."

"Who?" asked Harry eagerly. Remus just chuckled.

"There's a record in the library, you should check it out."

Harry nodded absently; he was too busy looking Remus over. He'd thought Madam Pomfrey a good healer but she had nothing on the healer here. Remus looked better than he'd ever seen him, his wounds were healed over and his scars fading. He was still looking a little rough around the edges but no one could perform miracles.

"Hang on; I thought that prank Sirius pulled on Snape was in your sixth year?"

"It was."

"Huh I don't get it." Harry said a little confused.

"Calfora wasn't Headmistress then, she was the Master Conjuror. And Headmaster Florn was a bit more relaxed about security than he should be. I don't know if Silay has explained the security measures to you yet but as you know no one knows this is a school." Harry nodded. "Well did you wonder how they couldn't know it was a school when students disappeared from their old schools for three years before coming back fully qualified?"

Harry honestly hadn't.

"Well in that sort of situation it would become pretty obvious that the students were leaving their schools to be taught somewhere else. Eventually everything would have come out. The Founder of this school believed that students learned better away from distraction. The school is almost cut off from the real world. Only teachers, former students and current students can access it. Not even family. No distractions, even the activities that take place during the summer are in some way geared towards learning. The Founder believed the outside world to be the biggest distraction of them all. Not only family and friends but the interest and pressure of people in general. The whole of the country, maybe even the rest of Europe look at the average grades a school has. And with something like this school, that teaches to a higher level of magic there'd be expectations. People would begin to assume that graduates from Mysteria all want positions of power, all want to be leaders. There'd be heavy pressure from governments for the students to join them in some capacity."

Remus paused a moment to collect his thoughts. "And then would come the fear. Not all students use the motto. Like me, for whatever reason, they choose to keep it secret that they gained Mysteria." He shook his head. "It's just easier to say someone attained Mysteria than consciously switching between that and the truth. It's easy to slip up if in your head you continue to think that you graduated from the school, instead of just doing some random thing to achieve a state of mind. Most students never need to use what they learn here or they choose not to. If you don't admit to having attained Mysteria then you can't use the powers you developed to their full extent. That's another safety precaution the Founder installed, you are limited to the level of power you would have gained at your original school. I chose not to reveal my powers for my own safety. When I finished school there was no way that a Ministry registered werewolf could come out being as powerful as I am. You may come back from Mysteria a leader, you may have powers ordinary Witches and Wizards can't fathom but you aren't invulnerable Harry. I want you to remember that. Everyone dies whether you meet your match in a duel, are murdered in your bed or die in your sleep. We all end up in the same place and it's just as easy to send a powerful person there as it is a weak one. You just have to pick your moment and your method. The world is still too prejudiced for me to be myself. Hopefully one day that will change but for now I intend to be around for a lot longer and that won't happen if people become even more scared of me."

"Harry, look how scared people are of Voldemort and he didn't even go to this school. Can you imagine how people would react if they learnt that there was a school churning out graduates with the powers we possess? It would be a Witch hunt, the only difference between this and the old one would be that this time it would be our own kind persecuting us. All those reasons are why the Founder decided to keep this school secret. And he created one large spell to keep it that way. Any student, new or old when on the school grounds is also in the Wizarding World."

Seeing Harry's blank look he chuckled. "I'm not the best person to be explaining this. Calfora will do a much better job. Right, so the security measures are like this. The spell creates a copy, a doppelganger if you will of each student. These doppelgangers then go about living that person's life for them while they are at the school. Each night as you sleep you get the memories of what you did that day. It's a very ingenious spell. All your friends see you there with them; they interact with you just as they would if you were real. But the doppelganger is also made safe from harm. The doppelganger has no initiative so it will not take advantage of situations. Imagine that you saw someone doing something strange, well you Harry would try to find out what it is. Your doppelganger would not. Meaning your doppelganger is very likely safe from Voldemort's manipulations this year. The doppelganger will live your life for the next three years, longer if you become an apprentice and no one will ever realise."

"Ok. So what's this have to do with the prank in sixth year?" Harry asked, deciding not to think much about someone else living his life.

"As I said Master Florn was a little lax in security, he let us go back during the holidays and weekends. So I of course did, wanting to see my friends. One weekend it was the full moon and since full moons were fun, going around the forest with your Father and Sirius I went home thinking nothing about it. You know what happened then."

"Wait a minute, why have you had so much trouble getting a job? Even if you didn't use the motto there would still be some people who knew you'd gone here and I bet a lot of them had their own businesses and stuff."

"Even if I was more powerful than Dumbledore the prejudice of the Wizarding world would still keep me from a job Harry. Whether I knew others who had opportunities for me or not, the Ministry's regulations on my kind don't help. And there's been a war going on for the last few decades, that doesn't lessen peoples distrust of dark creatures. So I decided to keep in the background. People underestimate me easily and it leads to their downfall. Until my kind are treated equally in the Wizarding world I'm much better off giving them no reason to fear me. And coming out with the motto would do that. When you leave you can choose to use it or not and when I finally do a lot of people will regret saying things about me. They'll see something different in me for those who do not have the right cannot use the words, they can discuss them but never associate them with themselves."

Harry smiled sadly at Remus' wistful expression. "Are you staying for a while?"

Remus shook his head. "No I've got to leave soon. But I'll write to you cub. I can't leave my friends to fight in the war alone. I can still do something out there." He smiled suddenly. "You're Headmistress has offered me a position once the war is over. Which I suppose is telling me something..." He smiled sadly.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked a little confused.

"That I'll survive the war." He said. "You're Headmistress is a very gifted Seer Harry, if she ever tells you anything you'd be wise to heed her."

Harry nodded intending to ask something else but was interrupted.

"Sorry Harry." Silay said coming back; he'd gone a little way away earlier to give them some privacy. "We have to go and get your room sorted. We have to be done by seven thirty." Harry nodded and gave his Godfather another hug.

"Work hard and keep in touch." Remus said before allowing Harry to pull back. "That's another good thing about being a former student, I can write to you."

Once they were outside in the corridor Silay led him back to the staircase, they went up that one then another two before finally emerging onto a landing. "Your Godfather must have really impressed Calfora, she's letting him leave with his memories intact."

Harry just smiled deciding not to mention that Remus was once a student here.

"The two floors below this one housed the classrooms. This one is the student's floor. You are assigned a room before you arrive and that will be your room throughout your entire stay. You're lucky you got a tower room."

"You mean I have to climb more stairs!" Harry exclaimed. Silay chuckled and led him down the corridor, past a lot of doors with brass name plates. At the end was a small spiral staircase. They passed a small landing with one door; the name read Salisa Jaren Mai. Huh, sounded like a vampire's name. They carried on up.

The next room appeared to belong to Chrysan, he could hear the demons voice drifting through the wood. The third door, he didn't quite catch the name engraved on the plaque. And the fourth and last one up was his.

Harry was extremely knackered by then but Silay didn't seem to have broken out into a sweat. Then again the lucky sod hadn't had to walk/fly here.

"You have ten minutes then you should start making your way down to dinner. You do remember where I said the dining hall was, don't you?"

Harry sighed. "Yes the ground floor."

Silay smiled, showing his teeth. "You are responsible for your own protection and decoration of your rooms. And if you miss any of the set meals then that's too bad the house elves have orders to remove anyone who sets foot in their kitchen." He smirked. "Doesn't mean you can't try though. Then again you could always try your luck at the orchard. Oh and you'll get your time table at breakfast tomorrow, you then have the rest of the day to navigate the school before classes start the next day as we most certainly don't give out maps. Tardiness is punished harshly, especially in my classroom. Any questions?"

Harry just shook his head, it was a little hard to concentrate when you had a lot of information fired at you and had a sleeping snake breathing near your ear, her tongue every so often flicking against your neck.

Silay smiled. "Right well I'll see you at dinner then." And off he went. It was a while before Harry felt like he'd gotten all that information sorted out. Once he had he turned his attention to the door before him. Oak panelled with a brass name plate, classy.

But the room was nothing like what the ostentatious door proclaimed. Harry stood there gaping for a full minute before he remembered what Silay had said; he had to decorate his rooms himself. Thank Merlin. He thought. If he had to live like this for the next three years then he'd have rather stayed with the Dursleys. The room was almost empty except for his trunk, only a small, simple desk with a chair, bookshelf and bed furnished it. The bed wasn't even a proper bed, it was a cot. Like a camp bed but worse. His kitten Mir was laid out on the cot asleep; taking up a lot more space than something so small should be capable of. Someone, most likely Silay had let him out of his carrier.

Taking another look he predicted a lot of people in the library tomorrow looking up transfiguration spells and charms. Luckily for him he wasn't too bad at transfiguration and charms. But no matter how good he was he didn't think he could make that cot even half way comfortable. The walls were coated in white paint and the floor was dark stone. The only cool thing about the room was the shuttered doorway that led to a rather large balcony. The only thing between him and the night air were the shutters, he placed a strengthening spell on them for now and decided that tomorrow he would search for a draft blocking spell, or he would transfigure some curtains or something.

There was a window immediately behind the head of his bed. The windows width actually surpassed the width of the cot. Upon closer inspection he realised it was in fact a bay window. He loved bay windows; there were a lot of design possibility there. This one had a wide stone ledge that was big enough for him to sit on; he could even comfortably cross his legs and lean back against the glass. But he didn't know how strong the glass was at the moment and didn't want to test it with his weight. After all he'd spent part of the last few hours flying and didn't fancy testing his muscles again by suddenly plummeting out a window.

He leaned over and opened it, checking to see how wide the gap was. He could easily fit through there if he needed an escape and couldn't reach the balcony. A moment later a happy hoot startled him and Hedwig flew past his head, brushing her wings across his face as she came inside. Continuing to hoot happily she settled down in her cage for a nap. Why was it that all the familiars he'd picked spent most of their time sleeping?

The other good thing about the room was its circular shape, being the top room of a tower it was a given but it was still appreciated, the roof was brilliant though. Being at the top of a tower he had a very high ceiling going all the way to the point of the towers roof, several oak beams crossed the diameter of the circle. They didn't just cross from one side to the other in straight lines though, each beam met in the centre of the room. Arranged like a spiral they all rested on the one immediately below them.

They were a little ways apart; the lowest began just to the right of his bed. Each beam after that started about two metres away from the last and also rested on top of the last beam when it reached the centre of the room. The gaps between were large enough for him to fly through if he cared to do so. In fact the spiral arrangement of the beams almost made a spiral staircase; the steps were just a little too far apart for comforts sake. Either way it was a good place to sit if he wanted to. There'd be a good view too, as a little round window sat immediately above the bay window, next to the highest beam. It made the perfect seat. He found later that the little window, since it was several metres higher than the bay afforded a better view of the area beyond the school.

The tower was placed quite close to the entrance of the school, he could see the bridge and the lake surrounding it. He had a good view of frolicking horses but the rest was blocked by the thick tree line he'd walked through earlier. But looking through the little round window he saw over the tops of the trees, he could see the archery range, the greenhouses and even the orchard. In the distance, passing the gruesome arbour he could just about make out the black and white marble walls. His eyesight had never been that good before, it was definitely thanks to his creature inheritance that he saw so far. Either way it was a lovely view.

The walls of the hollowed out roof above the beams had been plastered and painted white like the other walls. So when looking up the whole effect was as though you were looking at an old carriage wheel or one of those wooden chandeliers that appeared in old movies, when the hero would cut a rope and the chandelier would drop on his enemies. He loved the room, it just needed decorating.

He didn't really have long but if he hurried he could make a few changes. He couldn't remember the spell to change the colours of things. He knew the wand movement but had forgotten the incantation. He threw open his trunk and grabbed his first year book of charms so that he could look up Colouring Charms. It wasn't hard after that to change the blank walls into a more suitable colour. He admitted to himself later that he did go a little fancy with the charm. He charmed the walls black and then added a little marbling effect in green. He then directed his wand to the white ceiling just visible through the beams and changed it to a midnight blue, almost black but not quite. He then added a few white dots to make stars. Later he would discover a charm to make them shimmer.

With all the waving around Silvera had finally woken up, it didn't stay that way for long though, she gave him an exasperated look and then went straight back to sleep. The only difference between this time and the last was that this time her tongue flickered against his collarbone, instead of his neck.

He cast a quick tempus charm and decided that he should be heading down to the feast. He quickly lifted Silvera from around his neck and placed her gently on the bed, she glared at him for the jostling then went back to sleep. She didn't do much did she?

He shut his door and cursed when he realised there was no lock. He'd have to look up wards in the morning. Could he transfigure a lock and key? He really doubted it. He'd have to hope that everyone was too busy at the feast to try and get into his rooms.

He headed down; silently reviewing in his mind what junk he had in his trunk that he could transfigure. He had an idea that he'd be looking through a lot of books after the feast. There was no way he was sleeping in that bed, he'd put up with a cot for ten years and there was no way he was doing it again. He also needed to learn at least a basic ward; there was no way, even if he got the bed sorted that he would be sleeping if he didn't feel secure.

Passing the room below his he saw that the name on its plague read Frear Sern. Huh, interesting name.

The walk back down the stairs while very tiring was also interesting, he passed several students most of them second years or higher but none of them paid any attention to him. Being the Boy Who Lived and having everyone stare at him had been a constant in his life, he'd never liked it and now he was feeling the anonymity of being just another new student. It was bloody brilliant.

He just followed everybody else; he didn't bother looking to see if anyone he knew was around. Surely he'd find out in the dining hall. Entering the dining hall was a bit of a shock, he didn't know what he had been expecting, well he'd probably been expecting something a little like Hogwarts. Four long house tables and a teacher's table set to the side. Instead he saw the weirdest dining hall he'd ever seen. It was arranged like an amphitheatre.

When you entered you looked down upon a cavern. Rough hewn rock walls surrounded them and high above your head was a glorious network of white crystals that glowed in the light of a thousand candles that were floating in each and every crack and crevice. Below the glorious ceiling was what could only be described as steep marble steps. It really did remind him of one of the amphitheatres he'd seen in a picture from one of the Dursley's holidays. Or like the Hollywood Bowl he'd seen in a film once. But unlike them there was no stage, only the slightest platform at the foot of the steps opposite.

The steps opposite were greyish silver, whereas the rest alternated black and white. These were the ones the students were sitting on; the grey section was left empty. Some students were sitting apart from their peers. Others were sitting in pre-arranged spots with groups of friends all in a line.

He felt a sharp poke in his back and turned his head to find an older boy glaring at him.

"First years sit at the bottom, near the Masters." He said pointing. Sure enough when Harry followed his gaze he saw a couple of recognisable heads, most notably the two girls that had shown up after him. Everyone else was unknown to him. He felt another tap on his shoulder, annoyed he turned expecting the same boy to be there. Instead he came face to face with the Demon from earlier. Chrysan.

"Hello again Harry. Mind if I join you?"

"No, no that's fine."

Chrysan just smirked before matching his pace to his. They descended the stones steps together; luckily the ones meant for travel were half the size as the ones meant for seating, which was good because even with his recent growth spurt he didn't think the decent would have been comfortable. He glanced at each row as he passed it by, Harry wondered where they were supposed to put their plates, there were no tables and the seats definitely didn't look comfy.

The two of them made their way down to the very bottom; there were only five levels which he supposed made sense with the schools structure. Five years, the three lower ones the mandatory years, the additional two were for apprentices. It wasn't surprising that these students were the least numerous. But one thing Harry noticed was that even if all the students sat together on one solitary row, they wouldn't fill it. There was so much space in the cavern. The sight of it was imposing, awe inspiring but he still felt comfortable, even more so than Hogwarts with all the cheery colours and the smaller, cosier atmosphere. He realised that the students could sit where they wanted within their rows, total privacy, that's what was given. Unlike at Hogwarts where the teachers could see everything you were doing and could deal with it quickly. Here the message was iGovern yourself/i. Or in Harry's opinion, do what you want we're not gonna stop you.

He loved it. Trust, responsibility and punishment for wrong actions, that seemed to be the meaning behind all this. The placing of the first years at the bottom did give them a little protection but they were still far enough away from the area reserved for the teachers to still be free of perusal. Reaching the bottom they walked a little along the stone steps to get closer to the other first years.

"HARRY."

Harry span around so fast when he heard his name shouted that he nearly slipped off the edge of the step. Luckily Chrysan was close enough to grab his elbow and steady him.

"Neville. Don't do that."

The other boy blushed sheepishly as he came up to them. "Sorry Harry."

The three of them sat down and sighed with relief, it seemed the other two were as knackered as he was. Harry was relieved to feel a cushioning charm beneath him. It had never entered his head that the marble benches would have cushioning charms on them. He was thankful because his legs were killing him. And he was tired, he had a funny idea he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes open for much longer.

Leaning forward he was able to see the other first years. There had to be around twenty students there already. He wondered if there were anymore still to come. He recognised the two girls who had come in after him. One was sat close by, the other; the red head was sat at the very far side almost completely on her own. She looked a little shy. The closer of the two, the black haired girl was a vampire. You could tell with the way the candlelight flickered off her skin, light gave the pale skin of vampires a strange quality. It made it shine. Then again the inch long incisors he'd glimpsed made it pretty obvious too.

In the middle of the bunch sat the boy with the silver hand. He was talking with another boy who had a bit of a wild look about him. The second boy didn't look too pleased with the conversation; in fact he looked like he wanted to rip the thief apart. The girl next to him, clearly a sibling placed her hand on his arm and squeezed slightly. This seemed to calm him a little as he visibly pulled himself together.

A little further down, near the shy girl was a group of four youths. Two girls and two boys, they each had an aura of power about them. But their power seemed limited, as though they had control over one thing almost to the exclusion of all others.

The rest of the students seemed pretty un-remarkable. He looked the other way to see if anymore students had arrived after them. He saw another two vampires, males, the rest seemed to be human. One or two could easily be Werewolves, after all they were harder to recognise than other creatures. Satisfied he turned to Neville.

"So what's your room like Neville?"

The other boy seemed to glow at the question. "Oh it's great Harry. They've given me a big room with lots of windows; it's even got a sky light. And there are lots of flower pots and stuff and even a pool for water plants. I've already transferred my Mimbulus Mimbletonia to a bigger pot."

"That's great Neville." He smiled; he knew Neville was an Earth Elemental so his room would be tailored to fit him. It seemed all he needed was the plants.

"How's your room then Chrysan?" He asked, turning to the demon.

"Same as yours I imagine. They had to have given us both balconies so we can go flying." Harry nodded in answer. He didn't even bother asking how Chrysan knew he was a flier. Demons had a strange gift that allowed them to instinctively know the strengths and weaknesses of other people. That gift would surely have told him that Harry was physically tired. His gift would have even pinpointed Harry's trouble spots, meaning his muscles. So Chrysan could probably see the tension in his back, after that it wasn't hard to form the conclusion that Harry had flown part of the way here.

He realised the Demon was still talking. "Other than that it's pretty un-remarkable actually. I can't even fit on the bed right if I have my wings out. I'm going to go to the library after this to look for an advanced transfiguration book to help with that."

"I was going to do the same, mind if I tag along?"

"Sure."

"How about you Neville?" He asked turning back to his friend. But Neville wasn't paying attention to the conversation. He was looking back at the stairs. Harry followed his gaze and saw another boy just sitting down. Even being a bit of a distance away the hair stood out. Long platinum blonde hair, with silver highlights, Malfoy!

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	9. Chapter 9

_**Summary**…Just days after the DOM a mysterious letter arrives and Harry is faced with a decision. Reject the offer and continue on the path Dumbledore has set for him or forge a new one and challenge every opinion ever forced on him. _

**SLASH. Creature fic, new school, Grey/Powerful Harry, possibility of Mpreg but will maybe take a vote on it… **

**Oh if anything else warning worthy develops I will put the warning in the authors note. I'll also try to highlight it in the text. K?**

_A/N…Right as stated in the summary this is **SLASH** so i would hope that anyone whose got to this point has got that by now, so remember if you don't_ _like it don't read it. **HBP and eventual DH **spoliers, but I think most people will have read that by now, so just in case. Will mention **Mpreg **but it isnt likely it will actually happen in the story. Could do but i doubt it. _

_Sorry I havent mentioned anybody here, i'm going to try and reply to everyones review directly instead of in the chapter. The only time i'll put a reply in the chapter is when it addresses something that I think needs explaining._

_**Pairing news... **I recieved a few more votes for ocs but Remus is still in the lead. And I am considering a threesome but I'm not yet sure whether the characters figuring out the dynamics of their relationship would ruin the story. I'll keep you posted but I will not go with the threesome unless I am entirely comfortable with it. _

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_**Mysteria**_

**_Chapter Eight_**

Harry couldn't believe it. If one thing could ruin this for him it was Malfoy. He'd hoped to get away from the blonde. And now he was stuck at another school with him. Luckily Malfoy hadn't spotted him yet; Harry was way too tired to bother with Malfoy tonight. As he looked away he couldn't help being a little satisfied that Malfoy looked worse for wear. His condition definitely not up to his usual 'perfection'. The blonde was holding himself a little stiffly and was definitely a little gray around the edges.

Just then the teachers made an appearance. Like the students they had to walk down from the very top, but their entrance was at the top of the greyish silver section. They descended the steps in a line, two people walking abreast. It took them very little time to take their seats. Harry spotted Silay and Kire, Neville's mentor chatting amicably on one of the tiers. He swept his gaze over the other teachers pretty quickly before resting them on Calfora. The Headmistress was sat about halfway up the steps, directly in the middle of the row. She alone had a cushion. But Harry didn't care about that; with the cushioning charms it was just as comfy as it would be if he'd had a cushion too.

She was a beautiful woman, definitely not as unconventional as Dumbledore either. This was a bit of a relief if he was honest, only Dumbledore could pull off his extraordinarily bad taste in robes. She didn't wear weird robes with stars over them; her taste ran to a simple form fitting black robe that seemed to highlight her pale skin. Her red hair was loosely piled on top of her head, several of the curls having come loose and dangling down in various places. Her eyes were large and golden, she had high cheekbones and a creamy complexion with cupid's bow lips that needed no gloss, their red colour almost as startling as her hair.

Sat next to her was an unknown vampire, probably the Deputy Headmaster. Something beginning with 'D' if he remembered right. Typical vampire, pale and a perfect, slightly glowing complexion and short black hair. Black hair and pale skin seemed to be a genetic trait of the Vampire species. It wasn't like it was in movies or even with werewolves where any type of person could be turned. There was no turning in vampires. They were all born as any other mammal was born. They were their own species, just like the demons, not genetically altered humans. They may have humanoid appearances but they weren't human, they had their own traits.

At their appearance the older students had quieted, after a few moments the younger students followed their lead. When all was silent Calfora got to her feet.

"Welcome to another year at Mysteria. Older students you know the drill so I'm not going to explain anything to you. Feel free to talk quietly."

Harry gaped at her incredulous, as a low hum of conversation started behind him. If this were Hogwarts McGonagall would be shushing them all right now and shooting disapproving looks at Dumbledore for the suggestion. That wasn't happening here though.

"First years, first of all congratulations on surviving the test of worth, getting here means you deserve to be schooled but only if you graduate will you be considered worthy of our school. I hope your rooms are satisfactory, if not make them so. I assure you that anybody who complains will be ignored. This school is not easy; you may even come to regret your decision. If that is so then get lost, we don't want you. But understand this if you set foot out of school grounds without permission you will lose all that you have learned and the doors will be forever barred to you. Now, because of the inherent difficulties in getting here and the homicidal tendencies of the school and some of her students it was decided by the Founder to have an initiation day. Meaning that you have one day to get used to this school. One day to learn about the pitfalls and trials. One day is all you have to memorise the routes to your classes without having to worry about defending yourself. From midnight tomorrow that changes and you become fair game. From then on the school will try to trip you up and its students will test out their own powers and skills on you. So I suggest that despite your tiredness you work on your protection because tomorrow this school won't let you learn her easily."

She paused with a derisive snort. "I've heard tales of those other schools that some of you have left, Hogwarts with her trick staircases and doors, Beauxbaton's with its changing floors and Durmstrang with its suits of armour that shoot random curses." She smiled. "Well my dears, that is a walk in the park compared to this. I suggest you make friends quickly, the greater your number the more chance you have. Oh and the unforgivables are allowed. I would however prefer you not to use them; they require little imagination and once you've done it you can do it again quite easily. There's no learning or improvement involved, very boring. Try and be creative. Breakfast begins at eight thirty so make sure you don't miss it. Those of you who signed up for Duelling and Survival Skills have an even earlier start so get yourselves to the courtyard by seven am. Since you are first years don't even bother taking any weapons yet, all you'll need is your wand. At the end of breakfast your mentor will come and direct you to his office and will give you a time to meet with me. These meetings are mandatory, anybody who misses one will not be called again. That is all for now, let us eat."

She sat down and immediately turned her attention to the vampire on her right. Harry glanced at Chrysan and Neville and saw they appeared just as shocked as he did. At that moment they were all seriously re-thinking their decisions to stay.

Harry was distracted from his thoughts by a series of pops. The sounds drew his gaze to the teachers section. His eyes widened as he saw laden tables appear out of nowhere. Harry was still staring ahead of him when his own table appeared. He nearly jumped and upset the whole thing.

It ran the entire length of the row; there were no legs it just hung in mid air at the perfect height for all of them to eat at. In front of him were all his favourite dishes. Roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding, Lamb with Mint Sauce, Chicken Drumsticks and probably every possible variety of potatoes, amongst other things that he wasn't as keen on.

He hadn't realised until that moment how hungry he actually was. Everyone else seemed to be of like mind if the rate the food was disappearing off the plates was anything to go by.

Once they were done with the mains the deserts appeared. It seemed that by then everyone was feeling refreshed enough to begin conversations again. He asked Neville about his summer and the other boy proudly showed him his new wand, eleven inches, willow with a dragon heart string core. His Fathers wand had been broken at the Ministry; Harry pushed away his feelings of grief when they again welled up. He didn't want to think of Sirius now.

Harry's summer hadn't been particularly interesting so they spent little time discussing that. They spent a lot of time asking Chrysan questions on demon culture.

"We don't have schools you understand." He said shovelling ice cream into his mouth. "Because very few demons actually have any magical ability. What we do have is what is termed demon magic so we're usually taught by our own elders on such things. Having wizard magic has allowed me to come here but I still need to take lessons in some demon subjects so I will be taking extra lessons in those areas with my mentor as there are no demon professors." He then turned to Harry with a curious gleam in his eye. "So what manner of creature are you Harry?"

Harry smiled to himself, he'd been wondering how long it would be before it was brought up. "I honestly have no idea. According to Silay I am an unnamed creature."

"There are few afforded the same classification." Chrysan mused. "All are quite unique. It must be a rare bloodline. Are there any unknowns in your family's bloodline?"

Harry chuckled. "There are several actually."

Neville whistled.

"I do not envy you the search then my friend."

Harry smiled; he liked Chrysan, who he was seriously considering calling Chrys as his full name was a mouthful. It wasn't long after that when they realised that many of the older students were just getting up and leaving. Weren't there any end of feast speeches? He stole a glance at the teacher's tables and found Headmistress Calfora already gone and most of the other teachers with her. Huh guess not. Silay gave him an encouraging grin and a wave before he too left.

After climbing back up all the steps, which took them forever. All three of them had to pause for a break at the top. Going through the door and back into the corridor Harry turned to ask something of the other two who were behind him. "Are we going to the library then?"

Before the other two could answer Harry heard another voice, one that he'd hoped to avoid.

"Do you even know what a library is Potter?"

Harry sighed before turning around to face his enemy.

"Malfoy, still can't come up with anything new? NO!... Don't start yelling. It's been a long day and I am definitely not interested in fighting with you. Either grow up yourself or realise I have. Because if you try to pick a fight with me again I will either ignore you or beat you to within an inch of your life." He hissed.

The other boy just stared at him, shocked and before Harry turned away he thought he saw a hint of fear. Dismissing Malfoy he turned back to his friends, raised his eyebrow at their faces and said. "Shall we go?"

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The library was an old fashioned room, wall to wall bookshelves with most of the books being hand written and bound in leather. The few modern books that had made the grade seemed really out of place. There was a study section with comfortable couches and several desks, the walls were panelled with a warm honey coloured wood. The seats were all done in a rich wine red velvet that went perfectly with the colour of the wood.

Exploring, they found that most of the library was for general use, at least on the ground floor, a set of stairs led up to the next. But that was reserved for apprentices or those with permission from a teacher. Which meant they couldn't get a look at what was up there. At the back of the students area they found a large section reserved for teachers and apprentices with permission.

Deciding to split up they all headed for a different section. Harry went to find some books on wards, Chrysan on transfiguration and Neville on charms.

There were very few students in the library at this time and of the few that were in, most were first years. He'd only seen one older student and that was an Apprentice who went straight up the stairs. Apprentices he noticed had an extra symbol on their robes, a capital 'M' with an inverted 'A' beneath it, both letters were joined to create a shape that vaguely resembled a heart, a very sharp one with a line across the bottom point. Harry shook his head; he was thinking too much about useless things, he should be focusing on looking for a book.

After grabbing a couple of useful looking ones he headed back to the table they'd chosen earlier. He passed by both the female vampire and the wild looking boy and his sister on his way to his own table. All three were absorbed in their own books. He spotted two or three other first years in and around the shelves. Everyone else seemed not to have bothered. Judging by the hints the Headmistress had dropped, Harry thought that they would be regretting that decision soon enough.

He greeted the other two as he set his stack down. They then began poring over any book that took their fancy, writing down each spell they found on the scrap parchment they'd grabbed from the box in the corner. Harry thought that was a really good idea, the library was full of boxes of old parchment and spare quills. You didn't have to go routing around in your bag for the items and could even pop in when you didn't have your bag with you. This in his opinion might actually save a lot of time running up and down stairs. Which he was all for.

They pooled their knowledge at the end, admittedly though they were all the most curious about the spells Chrysan had found to transfigure their beds. They decided on a few basic wards that wouldn't overtax them before leaving. Unfortunately Chrysan's spell work had to be very basic. Not many demons had magic and since they weren't allowed to attend other schools this was the first formal schooling Chrysan had had. Until now he'd had no one to learn from and he'd had to do everything himself. He was very surprised when Harry and Neville told him a little about what they'd done in school. Chrysan wasn't a jealous person so the fact that they'd had more training in magic didn't bother him. After all he was physically fitter than both boys; everyone had their own skills and downfalls. Harry and Neville had already offered to help him with his magic and he in turn had offered to help them train their bodies outside of Duelling classes. It was a very beneficial friendship they were forming.

It was getting very late though and they all had Duelling and Survival Skills at seven in the morning. Harry didn't know whether he'd be able to get himself up at all in the morning, let alone in time for the lesson.

After saying goodbye to Chrysan Harry waited until the Demon was in his room before dropping to his knees and crawling up the last two flights of stairs. He was exhausted, absolutely knackered, there was no way he'd get up in the morning. Who in hell decided to put all these steps in one place?

He was pulling himself up by his hands when he noticed a spot of blood on the steps. Looking up he saw further drops on more stairs. He passed the third landing, the blood still going up; it had come from his room.

Suddenly feeling full of energy he picked himself up and ran up the last few steps to his room. He saw the blood on the handle even as he was twisting it to open. He burst into the room and saw nothing, nothing out of place; his trunk hadn't even been opened. Hedwig was perched in her cage, she'd been startled awake when he came in and was squawking at him angrily. Harry ignored her. Silvera was curled up and around herself, she was watching him curiously. Mir on the other hand hadn't been asleep, he was stretched out on the floor cleaning his claws, coincidently quite near a few drops of blood. The white fur of his paw was stained slightly pink.

Harry smiled and went over to him; he gently lifted the cat into his arms. Mir immediately started purring upon contact. Harry chuckled and began stroking the little cat's ears.

"Well I don't think I need these wards as much as I thought I did." He mused aloud. After a while he let Mir go and turned his attention to his room. After casting a couple of the wards around the room he found himself dead on his feet, deciding to leave the bed until tomorrow, he instead cast a quick cushioning charm on the cot and was asleep before his head hit the tattered pillow.

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When Harry woke he felt well rested.

A rough tongue was licking his cheek. Mir was perched on his chest, seeing that he was awake the little kitten began to purr and knead his chest with sharp claws. Harry gently disengaged the cat before reaching for his wand and casting a quick tempus charm, half six. Half six, he jumped up and threw open his trunk. He grabbed some clothes, a towel and his toiletries and bolted out the door, hoping that the bathroom he spotted yesterday was free.

Luckily it was, although he nearly collided with an upper year who stepped out the door towelling his hair dry and wasn't looking where he was going. The idiot shot him a disgusted look before pushing past him. Harry didn't bother retaliating he just ran into the bathroom.

He didn't bother getting a shower as he figured he would be sweating heavily by the end of Duelling, so he settled on a thorough wash instead. When he was done he ran back upstairs to drop his old clothes off before hurrying back downstairs.

'Whoever decided to put so many steps in this school...I really, really hate you!' He thought as he passed the floor with the infirmary. Jogging down the steps towards the arched entrance hall he spotted a lot of people milling about.

He headed into the crowd searching for Chrysan and Neville and tried unsuccessfully not to resent all the other males for still being taller than him. After a while he gave up looking for the other two boys and settled in next to a pillar to wait for them. Looking around he noticed another first year not far from him. He recognised her as the girl who'd followed him in yesterday, the one who'd jumped when she saw the vampire behind her. She looked like she was seriously regretting doing this.

Harry still couldn't see the other two and the girl seemed to be on her own. He headed over, she smiled hesitantly at him when he stopped next to her.

"Hello I'm Harry Potter." He said holding out a hand.

Her eyes widened but she quickly got over her surprise and shook his hand. "Pleased to meet you Harry, I'm Melaisa Hughes. You wouldn't happen to be regretting having to get up this early as well would you?"

She startled him into laughter, suddenly not seeming as shy as she had.

"I want to do the class. But I'm sure that if someone had told me that I would have to do this, this early in the morning, And after what we went through last night, well I'm sure I would have changed my mind."

She laughed lightly, a musical sound that made a few of the students turn and stare at them. Seeing this she blushed and quickly went shy again.

Harry was about to say something else when everything around them went silent. Harry couldn't see anything but he felt comfortable betting that their instructor had just shown up.

"Right, older students you know the drill get over to the left. First years on the right."

Hearing that voice Harry knew this wasn't a teacher to cross. Just like McGonagall the duelling Master wouldn't stand for any nonsense. Guessing that the man was stood at the end near the stairs he and Melaisa headed right.

They soon found themselves fighting against a tide of higher years.

"Harry, where the hell have you been?"

Harry looked up and smiled, pulling a reluctant Melaisa behind him he headed over to Chrysan and Neville, who was looking just as nervous as Melaisa.

"Having second thoughts." He answered.

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Duelling wasn't what he'd expected. For one thing they spent the first twenty minutes of the class chatting with their friends while their teacher sorted out the older years. Once he was done detailing their instructions he came and gave the first years a once over, assessing and calculating.

"Humans on the left, creatures head right."

That was all he said. He definitely wasn't a person who said more than he needed to. Looking at him Harry couldn't quite make his mind up what the man actually was. He looked like a vampire but there was something else there. He was the typical vampire except for a few features. He had the pale skin and very long black hair that he'd platted intricately down his back, not a hair escaped. But his eyes...his eyes were a little too large for his face really. The eyes were violet, the pupil like a cats. And he had a light dusting of purplish scales on his cheeks. His hands were clawed, the nails tinted black. He was also very muscular as opposed to the usual slenderness of vampires.

There was definitely some other blood there.

Harry and Chrysan waited for everyone else to get sorted out. Neville and Melaisa being human, albeit humans with elemental powers were on the other side. Eventually it seemed they were just waiting on Draco Malfoy. Malfoy had headed over to the human side but the Master had stopped him.

He had hold of Malfoy's upper arm and was looking at him intently. Malfoy was trying to act tough but he couldn't help wincing slightly at the man's grip.

"I don't appreciate it when students try to make me out to be a fool. Get over where you belong." The master growled.

Draco was looking seriously confused and a little scared. The blonde had always been a coward underneath all his bravado. Harry couldn't resist curling his lip in a sneer. Malfoy was weak.

"I don't like vain little gits who care more about their appearance than their true selves, remove the glamour boy."

"I...I ...I don't understand." Draco stuttered his face paling even further.

"The glamour boy, remove it."

"I don't..."

Harry didn't like Draco but having known him as long as he did he could tell the other boy had no idea what their teacher was talking about.

It seemed the Master had realised it too, his eyes widened slightly before he turned Draco around and pushed him towards the creatures.

"Stay behind after class."

That was the last thing Master Kin said to him before he turned his attention to his other students.

"Those of you who have creature blood are physically fitter than most humans." He said sizing up each group separately. "Under my teachings the humans will eventually be able to match your strength. As you are all different we will explore your individual strengths and weaknesses. We will begin with a general fitness test. Afterwards I will separate you even further. Five laps around the courtyard, now."

The whole class set off immediately, spurred on by his command.

It only took a moment for the running class to separate into groups. In the front were Chrysan and the wild looking boy and his sister. Seeing them run Harry knew they were werewolves. The three of them easily outstripped the others but after a moment Chrysan slowed up to run with Harry, who was in the second group along with a couple of vampires. Harry was quite happy that Chrysan had dropped back. Not only was it a nice friendly gesture but more importantly the demon was wearing that damn loincloth again and it wasn't easy to concentrate on his footing when he had that in front of him.

The group afterwards consisted of the athletic humans and the slower creatures and behind that the non-athletic humans. Neville was in that group with Melaisa. Harry was surprised that he didn't feel more tired than he did, but there was no way he could ever match pace with the werewolves up front.

Once everyone had finished the run they were put through a series of other tests. He tested their strength, co-ordination, balance...everything.

They were all exhausted by the end of the lesson. Harry was ready for a shower and breakfast. The second and third year students had been practicing hand to hand combat, at a simple hand gesture from the Master they all headed out.

"You can relax now." He said turning to the panting first years who had just finished another five laps. "No that doesn't mean sit down. Stand until you get your breaths back."

"This was your first duelling lesson. We haven't done much duelling, we may get to that tomorrow. Now your first Survival Skill's lesson is this evening, come back here at half past five. Your lesson will last until seven then its dinner, after that you have the rest of your day free. Both of your lessons will be with me from now on. At this school there are three defence Masters, we work on a rotational basis. The other two Masters will be here this afternoon leaving me free to focus on you. We each take a batch of first years and mentor it throughout their three years. It's my turn to take first years this year and I will be working you hard. Tomorrow bring your wands, we may as well get a little practice in after our workouts. You all took way too long today, work harder tomorrow." By the end of his speech the entire class was gaping in disbelief. Work harder? He had to be kidding.

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Breakfast was a simpler affair than the feast the night before. Several smaller tables appeared here and there down the line, each one laden with various foods. They'd missed some of their breakfast time showering, it was lucky this place had as many bathrooms as it did. Harry didn't mind though, he definitely didn't need a whole hour for breakfast.

Looking over the timetable he was handed by an Apprentice Harry noticed that he had a couple of new subjects tomorrow. Mondays began with Transfiguration which was followed by his first new subject Healing, after lunch he had DADA and Blood Magic then Transportation.

He was looking forward to all of the subjects, especially DADA, he couldn't wait to see how they handled it here.

Oh shit, he had double potions on Wednesday. Hopefully the teacher would be better than Snape. He had two lessons of every subject per week apart from Natural Magic and Occlumency/Legilimency which were single lessons each.

After breakfast Silay showed up and led him to his office. Supposedly to go over a few things and tell him his time to meet with Headmistress Calfora.

The teachers wing was two corridors past the dining hall, so it was a very short walk. Silay only having time to ask him what he thought of the school so far. Harry answered honestly, he had had second thoughts about staying. He did like the school and he was definitely looking forward to lessons, but it was true what he'd been told, it definitely wasn't easy. And they hadn't even gotten to the really hard stuff yet!

"Here we are." Silay announced.

Harry looked up, for some reason Silay had a kind of expectant smirk on his face.

"What?"

The smirk widened slightly.

"Nothing."

Shaking his head Harry glanced at the door. Then did a double take.

The name on the door read.

**_.Silay Snape._**

**_.Master of Curses._**

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	10. Chapter 10

_**Summary**…Just days after the DOM a mysterious letter arrives and Harry is faced with a decision. Reject the offer and continue on the path Dumbledore has set for him or forge a new one and challenge every opinion ever forced on him. _

**SLASH. Creature fic, new school, Grey/Powerful Harry, possibility of Mpreg but will maybe take a vote on it… **

**Oh if anything else warning worthy develops I will put the warning in the authors note. I'll also try to highlight it in the text. K?**

_A/N…Right as stated in the summary this is **SLASH** so i would hope that anyone whose got to this point has got that by now, so remember if you don't_ _like it don't read it. **HBP and eventual DH **spoliers, but I think most people will have read that by now, so just in case. Will mention **Mpreg **but it isnt likely it will actually happen in the story. Could do but i doubt it. _

_Sorry I havent mentioned anybody here, i'm going to try and reply to everyones review directly instead of in the chapter. The only time i'll put a reply in the chapter is when it addresses something that I think needs explaining._

_**Pairing news... **I recieved a few more votes for ocs but Remus is still in the lead. And I am considering a threesome but I'm not yet sure whether the characters figuring out the dynamics of their relationship would ruin the story. I'll keep you posted but I will not go with the threesome unless I am entirely comfortable with it. _

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Flashbacks and memories whether from Harry's life outside of Mysteria or inside it will be in italics.

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_**Mysteria**_

**_Chapter Nine_**

Harry took another bite of toast as he read the headline of the schools twice weekly newsletter. Newspaper might be more appropriate based on its thickness but that's what it was called so that was what Harry used. It had been a month now since Harry had been at Mysteria and today was September the first, the day he would have been going to Hogwarts.

Although he had come to love Mysteria he did miss Hogwarts on some level. It would have been nice to see the school again, even if it were only through the eyes of his copied self and not his own. He did miss Hogwarts but he didn't miss it enough to wish he was there, with all the people pointing and staring, all the questions and rumours. He was quite happy to let his 'other self' deal with all that. Over the last month many changes had come on the Wizarding world, what with Voldemort's return and the revelation that several prominent members of the Wizarding community were his supporters, the world couldn't help but change.

One of those changes and something Harry himself was quite happy with was that Cornelius Fudge had been replaced as Minister. The new guy was the ex head of the Auror department so he surely knew more about war time governing than any other candidate that had been proposed. Unfortunately the man's main aim seemed to be to increase the wizarding world's moral and although that was a good idea he was going about it in the wrong way. Mainly making pointless arrests, like taking into custody people like Stan Shunpike the conductor of the Knight bus. There was no way Stan was a Deatheater and Minister Scrimgeour had to know that, he was just arresting people because he felt as powerless as the rest of them.

Even though the man was a marked improvement on Fudge he still had a long way to go in Harry's opinion. Take the 'Guidelines' the Ministry had published on safety. It was a joke, code words and other rubbish weren't going to help against Deatheaters. He sighed glancing at the piece of paper clutched in his hands. Each 'newsletter' was divided into two, one half, usually the smaller half of the two contained information on what was going on in the school. I.e. Who had duelled who, who (if anyone) had died, and there had been a couple of deaths even in such a short space of time.

The other side contained information on what had been going on in the Wizarding World. It was very informative, covering several different countries and didn't give biased opinions like the Daily Prophet which seemed to be running quite a few articles on Harry at the moment.

Although little information was known on the events at the Department of Mysteries last year, where- Sirius, where Sirius had died, well even though the details weren't fully known people had guessed that it had something to do with the Hall of Prophecies. So now there were all sorts of rumours flying around, people had correctly assumed that it was about him and Voldemort. Not hard when they were both reported to have been in the building but still it was worrying. The papers were now calling him the 'Chosen One'. Urgh, he couldn't imagine what it was going to be like at Hogwarts now. He almost felt sorry for his double but mostly he felt relief that it wasn't him who had to deal with it all. His 'dreams' were sure to get more interesting from now on.

He reviewed what Headmistress Calfora had told him in their meeting a month ago.

_Silay had taken him to Calfora's office. It wasn't what he'd expected. In his experience Headmasters and mistresses usually had their offices on a higher floor or in Dumbledore's case a whole tower. But Calfora's office was underground, he'd been surprised when they began descending, the marble of the upper corridors gave way to rough hewn rock covered in tiny white crystals like those in the dining hall. _

_After a short trip down they came to an oak panelled door, after they'd knocked Silay left him. When he entered he found himself in a similar cavern to the dining hall, only smaller and with more crystals. Hundreds of candles on both the furnishings and the ledges of crystal provided the light. He'd assumed that there'd be a window in her office, most likely an illusion like the Ministry used but Calfora didn't seem to be bothered by the lack of daylight. _

_Before he'd entered she'd obviously been reading over some paper work but now she sat back in her chair regarding him with her large golden eyes. A small smirk played about her lips._

_"Welcome Mr. Potter, or may I call you Harry?"_

_"Er Harry's fine."_

_"Good." She smiled. "Please take a seat." She said gesturing to the seat before her desk. Her desk like the majority of the room was made of stone, behind the desk was a wooden bookcase almost a semi-circle in shape. Created by magic of course. She had a large open space with very little furniture, only the desk, bookcase and a couch, above the couch was a portrait covered in muslin cloth and in the corner was a gigantic spider web, the rest was left bare, all the better to see the natural beauty of the cavern. _

_"Alright Harry if you've finished taking in my office we might as well get started. After all I do have over twenty students to meet with today." She smiled as he stammered his apology. "Do not take me too seriously Harry; I am afraid I like to play with my authority. It keeps people on their toes."_

_She gathered a few items together from her desk, a white crystal, a roll of parchment and a small dagger. An absent minded cleaning charm was cast over the knife with a slight wave of her hand and a muttered incantation. She then handed the dagger to him and bid him prick a finger of his wand hand with it. A drop of blood was then placed upon the crystal which began to glow with a soft light. _

_"Very good." She said taking it and placing it on the parchment. The crystal continued to glow as it moved of its own accord over the parchment. As it moved from side to side a line of text appeared in its wake. Instead of being written in blood like he'd expected the words appeared to be seared into the parchment. Which was a relief to him, he'd had enough of seeing writing written in his own blood to last him a life line._

_"Well while that finishes we had better discuss some other things. The crystal is right now listing your skills and powers. From this we will determine if your course list is feasible. It will also detail the type of learning best suited to you. It may take some minutes for it to finish so while it does so I had better explain some more about the school. As you know Mysteria operates without the consent or knowledge of the Ministry. Our Founder believed this to be the best as he had had many experiences of the outside world sticking its nose in his business. He didn't want that to happen here so he created a series of protections to make this impossible. It was rumoured of course that not only did he create its protection but that he also created its destruction. Although we have no way of knowing for sure."_

_"His protections were numerous and extensive. Not only did he build this school without the world's knowledge, he removed the school and the land it was on from memory. The lake and its island are all protected under the first ever fidelus charm. The secret keeper is a portrait of the Founder himself."_

_"Wow." Harry couldn't stop himself, that was some feat to create the fidelus charm. _

_"A brilliant idea in itself, the portrait was placed under a permanent sticking charm and is protected from fire and other disasters. In an emergency the portrait can choose to give temporary control to the Head Teacher or anyone it deems worthy. But further protections were needed for the professors and their students. No one can talk about the school to people who haven't attended; only the motto can be used. Neither can anyone tell another student who else has been to the school. Then there's the doubles, in your case from the moment you left with Silay an exact duplicate of you took over your life with your relatives. He will act exactly as you do in all normal situations. The only difference is that we lower the amount of initiative the double has." Seeing his confusion she elaborated. "Ok, let's say that you are walking along and see someone suspicious going into a building. Your normal thought might be to investigate; well your double would leave it alone. He will go about your business, do everything that you usually do but he will avoid any situation that might result in physical harm or a revelation that he isn't all that he appears. His personality can be tweaked a little of course if there's something wrong." _

_"So what about letters and stuff, why can we send them?" Harry asked, wondering why they were allowed to send and receive letters if the school was so big on secrecy. _

_"That is another matter, any letters sent from this school to family members or anyone who has not already been here must not mention the school by name or any classes that are not taken at other institutions. In your case I believe you know several people who went to this school, so if you were to contact them you could say what you want. That is of course assuming that you place all the relevant secrecy charms on the letter so that it cannot be read by anyone other than the recipient."_

_"But what about Hedwig, won't people at Hogwarts wonder where she is?" _

_Calfora smiled. "Not only does the spell copy you, it also copies your possessions and your familiar. The real Hedwig will bring you letters here and the fake one will take any that are sent for your double."_

_"So there'll be a copy of Hedwig at Hogwarts too?"_

_"Yes Harry."_

_"That is so confusing."_

_Her smile widened. "It's best not to think about it. Just know that your presence here is protected and no one will know where you are. I will hook you up to the web now so that you might receive your doubles memory from the last twenty eight hours."_

_She motioned for him to follow her; she took him to the web and detached a strand from the very centre, the strand was then split into two. She attached one strand to each of his temples before waving her hand over the web's centre. The web began glowing and a moment later pictures entered Harry's mind. He saw himself doing chores at the Dursleys before going to bed quite late. Not particularly interesting but cool when you knew you hadn't done those things. It was a whole new type of identity theft. Hhhhmmm. _

_"Er Headmistress-"_

_"Calfora." she interrupted. _

_"Calfora, what's to stop my double from doing something I wouldn't?" It was so easy to forget she was a Professor; she didn't talk to him like he was her student at all._

_"You mean like commit a crime or attack someone?" She clarified. He nodded. "They can't its part of the spell. Harry believe me, don't worry about it we've had centuries to work out the kinks in this spell, it's safe. Trust us." She then began disconnecting him from the web. _

_"Now no matter what happens you will get the memories of your double while you sleep. If you have any problems come and see me."_

_"Um sorry but could I just ask one more question- what would happen if I had a vision of Voldemort and needed to tell someone?"_

_Harry wasn't surprised when Calfora didn't flinch at Voldemort's name. _

_"Each individual's basic requirements are taken into account. In the case of a werewolf their double would still transform on full moons. In your case if anything strange happens or you have a vision your double will notify Dumbledore."_

_"How do you know all this about us?" Harry asked shocked. _

_"The web." She answered shortly._

Harry had gotten so much information from her in such a short space of time but that wasn't all he'd learnt.

_Calfora motioned him back to the desk where the crystal had finally stopped glowing. Calfora picked up the parchment and whistled._

_"Ok where to start. First of all it looks like all your choices were dead on the money." She said consulting a list of his chosen subjects beside her. "It says that you have a talent for the following subjects: Transfiguration, Charms, Healing, DADA, Blood Magic, Invention of Curses, Dark Arts, Spell Casting, Necromancy, Elemental Magic/Control and Divination."_

_"Divination?" He asked incredulously. _

_"Yes Harry divination. It says here that you have a pronounced talent for the subject, especially in visions of the present. Hhhhmmm I would recommend adding divination to your time table. Leaving this gift untrained would keep it sporadic instead of allowing you to fully utilise it."_

_"But I can't be a Seer, I can't. I never saw anything in class."_

_"Harry it is against my nature to speak ill of people but Sybil Trelawney is unfortunately an underdeveloped Seer. Her gift is sporadic at best and she doesn't remember what she predicts. If she had been properly trained this would have been different."_

_"So are you saying that I'll end up like her if I don't train my powers?"_

_She laughed. "Well I wouldn't say exactly like her no, I don't think you are going to develop a taste for gauzy shawls and perfume that makes you sleepy but your gift could very well end up that way." _

_Visions of himself as Professor Trelawney kept dancing through Harry's head. There was no way he was ending up like that. _

_"Oh hell I can't believe I'm saying this but sign me up for Divination." He really couldn't believe he was doing this. "Are there any subjects that I can't take?" he asked. _

_"No your divinatory skills must have helped with that." Harry vaguely remembered almost instinctively knowing which subjects to take when he was making up his list. _

_"According to this the subjects you are most likely to struggle with are Transfiguration, Potions, Runes and Rituals."_

_"Erm Prof- Calfora why am I going to struggle with Transfiguration if I have a talent for it?"_

_"The stone says that you struggle with the theory application, that the models and diagrams employed to explain the subject are too technical for you. It says you should have one on one instruction and that you don't need to know the theory behind the spell, i.e. why it works. All you need to know is how to perform it."_

_"Oh ok."_

_"According to this you are very advanced in DADA, more so than the rest of your year but putting you into a one on one instruction with the teacher in this case wouldn't be beneficial. That subject is best learned in a group. We will leave you in the class for now. If you find the material too easy or the lessons going too slow inform your instructor and we will make alternative arrangements. I would suggest a smaller class size for potions so that the teacher can give you better guidance. Other than that a bit of hard work is all you'll need to do. Remember that teachers here only have classes with three years worth of pupils, not seven like at Hogwarts. Apart from single lessons and split classes they have a lot of free time in which to discuss things with you. Ask for their free times and pop by, that's what they're there for."_

_"Ok Professor, erm Calfora."_

_"Now I have one last thing to discuss with you Harry. As you might have guessed we keep a close eye on possible students, we don't interfere with their lives as that would draw attention to ourselves but we do watch. I am aware of your home situation." _

_Harry stiffened. "I'm sorry Professor but I don't see how that's any of your business." _

_Instead of being angry at his tone she smiled at him. "It matters Harry because this parchment has pointed out a potential problem to me that is linked to your past. Did you know that the condition of your body can affect your magic? I take it by that look you didn't. The condition of your body can cause problems with your magic. Small things like broken bones and bad healings are often fixed by your magic on your sixteenth birthday. What your magic cannot heal is the long term effects of things like malnutrition and the systematic weakening of bones by continual breaking. I know that the latter is not a problem for you but your growth has been stunted by malnutrition and I believe living in a dark cupboard for most of your life. Even though your body may not be ill in the technical sense, it is still weak as it didn't achieve optimum growth, this affects the control of magic and how much of your magic you can use. Your magical core is rather large but you cannot access it fully because doing so could make you seriously ill. That may actually be another reason why you find transfiguration difficult, the higher disciplines such as transfiguration require higher levels of concentration and power. If you cannot access your full strength then it stands to reason you would find the subject difficult. The only times when you would be able to access your magic fully would be if you were angry or upset."_

_Thinking about it Harry realised there were several instances where this could have been the case. Like blowing up Aunt Marge in third year. _

_"So what do I do?" he asked. _

_"I suggest you talk to the healer, either today or after your lesson tomorrow. She will likely put you on a specific diet and potion regime but the sooner you get it sorted the better. Now I believe that is all." She said glancing at the parchment one final time. "You can go and explore with your friends now if you wish."_

_"Thank you Professor."_

_"Calfora."_

_"Calfora." He agreed._

_"Oh and Harry, before you go, when you complete your Natural Magic course come and see me again, I will have something to discuss with you."_

He had taken Calfora's advice but had decided to wait until his first lesson with the healer. Unfortunately that had been a bad idea as Master Kin had tested their magical duelling abilities in that mornings duelling lesson. Harry had never been so disappointed in himself; he'd received a blistering lecture on both his weak magic level and his endurance. The Professor had expressed his disbelief that Harry was indeed the one who had defeated the Dark Lord and was convinced that if he had he'd done it out of pure luck. Not a good day.

It didn't make you feel good, especially when you were surrounded by the rest of your class and even worse your rival. Draco Malfoy had looked like Christmas had come early, last lesson he'd received a telling off and now it was Harry's turn. Chrysan, Neville and Melaisa had of course told him that their teacher didn't know what he was talking about. And although he knew they were lying through their teeth they still made him feel better.

But that wasn't the end of his lectures. His first ever proper lesson had been transfiguration and as Calfora had promised he was the only one in the class. Which wasn't necessarily a good thing as he couldn't deflect attention from himself onto someone else. He'd received almost the same lecture from Master Siva. The transfiguration teacher wasn't happy with how long it took him to learn each spell. She was very out spoken, he kind of felt sorry for Melaisa who had her as a mentor.

He'd always had trouble with transfiguration which was something he couldn't understand as his Father was supposed to be such a natural at it. It had always disappointed him a little; he wanted to have more in common with his father and his mother. But this thing about his health had thrown him a life line.

After this he'd gone to the healer, who had put him on a special diet and exercise regime. He'd complained of course, he was already doing duelling, surely that was enough exercising for anyone. But no it wasn't, so now he had to follow a diet and exercise plan, he also had to take about ten different potions per day. It was really tiresome but he had already noticed a difference so it was all worth it in the end.

His stamina had increased a lot since he'd been on the potions; he also found he was gaining a lot more muscle definition now with the exercise. He'd always been an active person but it had never seemed to make much difference to his size. Most of what he'd gained over the years had actually happened over night on his sixteenth birthday, he may have grown but still almost everyone in the school was taller than him, even the girls.

So every morning he got up and did his exercises, during this time he revised the memories he'd gained overnight. It was weird having a whole other life pop into your head overnight. Luckily at the moment it hadn't been too bad, the only interesting thing that had happened was when Dumbledore came to collect him a couple of days after his birthday and took him to the Burrow. Apparently Grimmauld place was now too much of a security risk with Sirius being dead.

It still hurt to think about his Godfather but Harry tried hard not to think about him at all. It was probably the wrong thing to do, almost like he was dismissing Sirius' memory but he just couldn't bring himself to think about him at all yet.

No, the interesting thing that had happened was his and Dumbledore's little chat in a broom closet. Harry supposed that being taken to meet a new teacher could also be classed as interesting but Harry didn't really care, it wasn't like he would be taught by the man anyway. No what was interesting was Dumbledores promise of private lessons. He wondered if he'd learn anything with the Headmaster that he wouldn't get at Mysteria, he didn't think so but you never knew anything was possible after all.

Harry took a glance at Neville to find the other boy was finally finished reading his letter from home. Harry wished he had a letter himself to read but it had only been a day since he'd sent Hedwig off with his reply to Remus' latest letter.

He'd been surprised when about a week into the term he'd received a letter. He hadn't expected to get any here at all. He hardly got any when he was at Hogwarts and since most of his friends were there and didn't know he wasn't amongst them, well he definitely wasn't expecting a letter. When he'd seen it was from Remus he'd been both shocked and pleased, Remus was Harry's last remaining link to his parents and Sirius, and his only real link to the real world. Even though the man had said he'd write Harry still hadn't expected him to. He knew himself that even after all these years he was still affected by the Dursleys treatment of him. He'd learnt to not expect anything from anyone, especially people older than him. With a few marked exceptions of course. And even though Remus was his parent's friend and his former teacher, he didn't know the man all that well really. So receiving a letter was quite wonderful, especially with all his classmates receiving several a week, some even got a letter a day. But he was used to not receiving many letters so it didn't really bother him.

He'd quickly settled into the routine here, maybe not all that quickly but quickly enough under the circumstances. So much so that after a month of waking up early for duelling he'd become used to it and now didn't feel ready to drop from exhaustion the moment he got out of bed. Which was a definite plus in his opinion. As the month had passed he'd received less disparaging comments from Master Kin about his magical duelling ability and he was getting increasing amounts of praise on his physical fitness. All in all he was improving, just slowly. Soon they would be moving on from just physical exercise to hand to hand combat and finally onto using weapons.

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The end of breakfast finally arrived and they all trouped off to their first lessons. Transfiguration went a little better than usual, at least the beetle he was trying to transfigure into a teapot didn't run off on him. It seemed quite willing to stay still, enabling him to get in a lot of practice. And by the end of the lesson he could change the beetle into a nice teapot with a totally un-beetle like pattern. Fair to well this was supposed to be an OWL subject and he should already be familiar with it, but he'd performed the spell under pressure for his examinations and although he'd gotten a good grade he believed most of that was on the theory paper. How that happened he did not know but that's what he believed.

Fortunately his second lesson, healing was much easier. He found it easy to learn the spells Healer Seele taught him. He took the lesson with only a couple of other first years. One of which was the girl werewolf. Unlike her brother she was pretty forgettable in looks. Apart from the silvery sheen to her gray eyes she had no distinguishing features. Long mousy brown hair and a thin face. Her brother on the other hand had a lean face with wild dark brown hair, his eyes were large and expressive. And he had that same silvery sheen to them that his sister had. His body was long and lean and he often moved with untamed grace, almost like he was ready to attack given the slightest provocation. His sister was a lot more submissive and gentle, healing seemed to be a subject she was very interested in.

After dinner came DADA. This ended up being the best lesson he'd had yet. Professor Marks was a werewolf, he seemed to specialise in making the subject fun. They hardly ever sat down to take notes from a long speech, they spent most of their time partnered up and practicing throwing different curses at each other and trying to block them. They hadn't had any creature related lessons yet.

Today they had a mock battle in the classroom. After half an hour of continuous fighting (Professor Marks kept reviving everyone) Harry was exhausted. With the Professor reviving everyone no one had been a winner. But that wasn't the point of the exercise so it didn't matter.

The lesson that followed was Blood Magic with Kire Halford. The subject had initially reminded him a lot of rituals. But unlike rituals everything they did involved blood. They hadn't actually done a practical in this course yet. There was a lot of theory to cover. The first thing they'd done was discuss Muggle beliefs on blood and how the blood circulated the body and so on. This part was basically for the creatures and the purebloods who hadn't had a muggle education. They then discussed wizarding and creature beliefs on blood and the uses a person's blood had been put to in the past. Apparently next lesson they would be doing their first practical, a test to see if a person could be controlled by someone using their blood in a spell or ceremony. Harry had a sneaking suspicion it was true and resolved to clean up any spilt blood quickly. That of course led to an odd thought, he still had the rag he'd used to clean up the blood of the person who'd come into his room that first night, the one Mir had attacked. It might be something to look into at a later date. He really wanted to find out who it was.

Harry's final lesson of the day was Transportation. Learning to apparate wasn't easy; it was probably Harry's least favourite thing at the moment, next to rituals.

After transportation was Survival Skills. Harry went over and sat in his usual place with Chrysan, Neville and Melaisa. In front of them were several bowls of water, each one dirtier than the last.

"Today we will be purifying water but firstly you will have to find water." Master Kin stated. "The best place to get water from is a stream; they say that the higher up you get the purer the water is. Filtering upon collection can save a lot of time later in the process, if the water is muddy take a shirt or a sock and dip it in the water then ring it out into the container, the mud should stay on the shirt. Another method of collecting water is to find a tree stump while it is raining, place hot coals upon the stump, as the wood disappears the hole fills up. Now onto the purifying. First of all we will be using a simple incantation, after that the Muggle method in case you are caught without a wand."

The incantation was rather simple. Harry, Neville and Melaisa got it rather quickly, they then spent the rest of their time helping Chrysan, he still had difficulty with most spells.

The muggle methods for purifying water were much harder.

"We begin by filtering the water. As it is unlikely you will be carrying around any type of pre-bought filter so the best way to do this is to use a piece of cotton cloth, a handkerchief or even a clean white sock. Pour the water through the filter several times until it appears clean. There are other methods but they are not as simple which means you are more likely to forget them. Your mother always told you to keep a handkerchief with you well now you know why, get to it."

Once that was done they all waited for further instruction.

"The most obvious method of purifying water it to boil it. Water should be held at a rolling boil for a specific amount of time dependent on your altitude. If you are at sea level boil the water for 5 minutes. For every five hundred feet you are above sea level add a minute to the boiling time. I realise that without your wand there is no real way to know what altitude you are at, all I can say is make an educated guess then add on as many minutes as you think advisable before stopping. Just remember that boiling decreases the amount of drinkable water you will have at the end. If it is salt water that you have, put a container in the pan (or whatever you are using for boiling), cover the pan with a lid. As the water evaporates the condensation is caught in the container, leaving the salt outside of it."

Keeping water at a rolling boil was much harder than it sounded.

"Right then the next method..." Master Kin said. "First dig a hole in the ground as wide as it is deep. Yes I'm serious the shovels are over there. Place a container in the bottom then fill the surrounding area with water. Cover the hole in plastic, preferably black plastic if you have it. Place stones around the edges to keep it tight and then place another stone in the centre, directly over the container. This method takes a long time unfortunately but as the water evaporates it condenses on the plastic and due to the weight of the stone rolls to the centre where it then drips into the container. It takes time but if you are staying in one area for a long time then it is a good thing to do even as you use the other method."

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At the end of the day Harry went back to his room to relax. He had homework for Rituals and Spell Casting to finish and since he was the only one out of his friends to take those classes he'd decided to do his work in the quiet of his room, without any distractions. Both Rituals and Spell Casting required an awful lot of concentration. They hadn't performed any rituals yet in class but they'd been going through all the different components and how they interacted. Now each student had been given an outcome and they had to design a ritual to accomplish it. In Harry's case he had to design a ritual for hair growth. Sounded simple but there was a big difference between a spell and a ritual. Rituals could involve a lot of different things, from calling up lower level non-corporeal demons to blood sacrifices or chanting in new, old or dead languages.

In their first lesson the teacher had cast a spell on them to allow them to learn any language after only hearing a couple of words. He then began reciting words in different languages to give them an initial basis for his lessons.

Melaisa had then asked the Professor how we could all understand each other when some were from different countries and hadn't learnt English, something that Harry was quite interested in actually. The answer was that there was apparently a universal language spell placed on the school meaning that everyone spoke and understood English. They could of course still speak in their native tongue if they wished but this made everything easier for everybody, especially as the majority of students were from the UK. Most of the foreign students wanted to continue learning in their own countries, so only a few ever came to Mysteria.

Rituals had been the subject he had been most reluctant to take, but if he wanted to take Necromancy he had to pass the subject. He definitely didn't have a knack for it, he struggled just as Calfora said he would, it was very difficult. What he was currently trying to learn was only a level one ritual. In other words it was one of the easiest to create. Videon Miarna, the Ritual Master, an elf had had a lot of time to become a Master, he was very knowledgeable about many subjects but seemed to have a passion for this one subject. Harry couldn't understand why. Master Videon had told them when he gave them this project that each of the rituals had already been created; they just had to rediscover the process. And so that they couldn't cheat all of the books in the library listing each ritual ever created were closed to first years. They were entirely on their own. Harry was half way through his own ritual and he was struggling. He had another week to complete it but he knew that leaving it until the last minute would be really stupid so he plodded along. He'd learned not to wait the hard way over the last month.

They'd all learned that the best way to finish their work was to do it as soon as they got it. Even the simplest assignment was harder than it looked.

Spell Casting was different though, it was difficult but in a completely different way than rituals. He only had until tomorrow to revise thirty spells. This first month they'd been going over what they should have learnt in their first five years at their other schools. The purpose of this their instructor told them was to both make sure they retained their knowledge from previous years and to refine their casting ability. As Harry'd known they would, they'd focused on wand work first. According to Master Rowan you could waste a lot of magical energy by performing jerky and incorrect wand movements. She'd started the course by having them practice level one spells like Wingardium Leviosa and the like. Imprecise timing of the wand movements and the words also caused more magical energy to be drained than necessary.

This had been illustrated to Harry when he'd gone to duelling class on his second day, incidentally that was when he'd received his first lecture from the man. Master Kin had told them to pair off and begin duelling each other, after ten minutes they changed opponents. Harry and most of the other students were tiring before they were even half way through their duels. They'd then received a blistering lecture on how unfit they were physically and on wasting magic with overly-flamboyant gestures.

Luckily Harry wasn't one of the ones given the lecture on over-gesturing, just on being weak, he definitely didn't over-gesture. But apparently, well according to Master Rowan Harry's wand movements were jerky at best. They didn't flow, which meant neither did the magic. They were working on correcting their weaknesses by going over old spells that they knew well. They were supposed to practice the movements in slow motion, then at normal speed, then at an accelerated speed. As their Master said, in a duel you'll definitely be performing the spell as quickly as you can, it wouldn't do to perfect the technique for the slower speeds and ignore the faster ones. If it left you open to magic weakness in a duel, it would be even worse in an extended battle.

This was one thing Harry definitely wanted to improve on. He couldn't afford a weakness like that when he would be fighting Voldemort and his Deatheaters. One thing he remembered about his duel with Voldemort was that the Wizard's wand movements were always very controlled and graceful.

Harry's other lessons were just as difficult. They all started in the same way though; the teacher always gave them some sort of lecture, whether it was on not messing about in the class or just telling them to pay attention there was always a lecture. Then they assessed them by having them perform a variety of spells, charms and hexes. This was mainly in the compulsory subjects as the majority of students had had some sort of instruction in them. There were others like Chrysan, mainly other creatures who had had no formal instruction and had had to rely on their parents and other family members to teach them even basic spells.

There were a few students that weren't creatures who also had some difficulty with spell work. Melaisa was a half-blood witch who had been home schooled by her Mother after her muggle Father was killed in the last war. Of course this meant that she struggled with any subject her Mother had been unable to teach her, most notably transfiguration.

Harry hadn't known that some parents chose to home school their kids instead of sending them to Hogwarts. But he supposed it made sense, Neville later told him that it was mainly purebloods that did it because a lot of them weren't happy with Dumbledore for one reason or another. Neville himself was going to be home-schooled until he received his Hogwarts letter, at first it had been believed that even though he wasn't technically a squib, he just didn't have enough magic to be trained at a school. Luckily that was not the case.

Those students often had classes on their own or with only one or two other individuals. Chrysan for example wasn't in any of his mandatory classes apart from Natural Magic which all first years learnt together.

Harry hadn't known what to expect in his first lesson of Natural Magic when he'd found himself out in the woods with the other confused first years. Their Master, one of the few human faculty members, Sarah Tears had begun her lesson with meditation. It took most of them a couple of lessons to actually achieve the meditative state she wanted. Surprisingly Neville was the first to get it, well maybe not that surprising since the purpose of the meditation was to connect with the natural world. Chrysan was the last one to achieve it, but as he said demons didn't often have to look inward like that. They didn't bother with relaxing techniques as they didn't need them.

Harry could definitely see where he was coming from, Chrysan was the least emotional person he knew, Harry doubted the demon could get worked up enough to need to relax. After all Demons as a species only slept for four hours a day. Harry was definitely jealous of that, the demon had more time to do everything, whereas he, Neville and Melaisa struggled for time.

Several students hadn't achieved the meditation exercise and had been removed from the class. Once you reached your limit you left, several others had gone after each stage, now there were only ten of them left in the class. Those that remained began learning to connect to living things and siphon off their magic. Of course they'd begun with rocks, as these weren't living but still had magic.

Harry had wondered whether Voldemort or Dumbledore knew this. After all they both knew elemental magic if their duel in the DOM was anything to go by. So they could know Natural Magic too. The more he thought about it the more he became convinced that Voldemort couldn't know how to do it. They were learning how to siphon off safe amounts of magic, learning to read the signs so that they knew when they had to stop. If Voldemort knew Natural Magic he wouldn't care about stopping, he'd suck everything dry. And Harry was sure he would have heard if Voldemort walked around leaving dead plants and animals in his wake, let alone Muggles and Wizards.

After getting past the meditation Harry found it surprisingly easy to connect to other sources of magic, living things were easier for him. As his creature had an affinity with most animals, he couldn't communicate with them yet but he was afforded a higher level of trust than anyone else in the class, even the Professor. Next lesson they would be moving on to other humans, both wizards and muggles. Muggles apparently had the most magic as they were just like wizards; they had magical cores and everything, they just couldn't use what they were given. Magic apparently replenished itself quite quickly; in some people it only took a couple of hours but this was no good when in the middle of a duel or a battle. When this course was over, those that completed it would not only be able to take magic from their surroundings they'd also be able take it from their enemies, thereby weakening them and strengthening themselves.

Unfortunately the amount of magic a person could take was limited to how much they contained naturally. Some people had larger power reserves than others; this made their spells more powerful and enabled them to last longer in duels. But there were other factors also, a person could have all the magic potential in the world but that didn't mean he had enough skill to wield it all. You could only do as much as your limit after all. So although Harry had a larger power reserve now that he was sixteen and could put more power behind his spells if he chose to, he still couldn't transfigure a person into a hammock or anything really because he simply didn't have the skill yet. It was like giving a paintbrush to a baby and telling them to paint the Mona Lisa.

Things like transfiguration were notably difficult you had to do the little things before you moved on to the big things. It wasn't like when he learnt the Patronus Charm in third year, he'd done that before he learnt any seventh year charms. There was no hierarchy to charms, all it took was practice and power with a little bit of skill. With transfiguration you couldn't skip a step; everything had to be done in order. Although learning was supposed to become a little easier now that you were closer to your actual power level that didn't mean he was suddenly better at transfiguration and could perform any spell set before him. He certainly couldn't.

That was definitely apparent when he showed up for his first transfiguration lesson and found himself the only student in the room. It definitely wasn't his best subject. It seemed that he had trouble learning from the complex models and diagrams most people used to illustrate the intricacies of transfiguration which made it easier for people to visualise. Apparently he learnt better with a much more visual and simple instruction or so Calfora said. He and the Transfiguration Master worked on breaking the spell down into smaller pieces. She was a Werewolf named Siva Ferent and just happened to be Melaisa's mentor. She was a nice woman but she often put her foot in her mouth, either by saying something inappropriate to the situation or making unwarranted observations.

She seemed the perfect match for Melaisa who he'd noticed often had trouble speaking her mind and bottled up her feelings. Master Siva did not have that problem, at all. The first thing she'd said to him when he walked in was. "Well you're a scrawny little thing aren't you, how in hell you defeated the Dark Lord as a baby I'll never know. You don't look like you have two magic sparks to rub together!"

No one had ever spoken quite so bluntly to him. Snape was probably the closest but that man had so many preconceived ideas about him that Harry hardly knew when he should take him seriously.

It had been a month now since he'd come to Mysteria. He could see the difference in himself, even after so little time. The potions, the diet and the exercise had definitely done wonders for his body. He'd often wondered in those first few weeks why Madam Pomfrey had never prescribed any of the potions he was taking. But then he realised she'd never really done as thorough an examination of him as the healer here had done. Probably because he'd never asked for one and as the abuse he'd suffered had been long term the signs were harder to notice with a cursory examination. He was small and definitely thin but it was only recently when the difference had become noticeable, until then he'd only been a little shorter than his year mates. But now everyone bar him seemed to have had a massive growth spurt. Well that was a lie he had had one with his inheritance and probably if he hadn't had his growth stunted by his relatives it would have put him at a more acceptable height for his age. But as it stood everyone, even a lot of the girls were looking down on him.

Luckily the potions appeared to be working; he was filling out a little more. He'd already muscled up a little more on his birthday but he'd still looked skinny with it. Now he didn't look quite so much like a bean pole with a bit of muscle, he actually had some shape to his body. His shoulders and chest were broadening a little, so were his thighs and calves. It probably wasn't apparent to everyone but he certainly noticed the difference and that was all that mattered.

Harry was currently sat upon his bed petting a needy Mir and twirling one of the longer sections of his hair around his finger. He took in his room with contentment. Coming here had allowed him to have his own space and make his own decisions regarding it. He loved the fact that it was a tower room; it reminded him of the Gryffindor dormitories. It certainly didn't look like it though; there wasn't a hint of red or gold in sight. The walls were coloured black with a marbling effect in green. The pointed roof was painted midnight blue and had little white dots to represent stars, that he'd charmed to shimmer like real stars. From the over-hanging beams trailed pieces of gauzy green fabric. The beams and the floor had been polished with a simple polishing charm and gleamed darkly. He'd asked Silay to transfigure him a rug out of an old sock he'd found and also some green curtains for his bed and windows.

He had a jagged piece of mirror from Sirius' gift last year on one wall that he'd enlarged. Next to it was Hedwig's perch and a cushion that Silvera and Mir shared. Silay had also gotten a load of candles for him and these were dotted here and there about the room, usually in large clumps, wax keeping them firmly routed to whatever they rested on.

Opposite his bed were his weapon stands, he'd warded them separately to the rest of the room so only he could take them from the racks. His broom was propped up beside it. Next to that was his desk and a built in book case. Both of those had already been in the room so all Harry'd done with them was clean them up a little. On his desk was a jumble of books, parchments, quills and ink. And on the shelves with his school books and the wizarding fiction he'd bought were his birthday presents from his friends and the envelope containing his OWL results. He'd received books from both Hermione and Remus although Remus' had been a little more personal. He'd sent a DADA book but it was what he'd put with it that made Harry want to hug him. Remus had sent him the book his father had used to become an animagus and two journals, both journals had been confiscated by McGonagall some years ago and Remus had only just remembered about them. One listed all the pranks and ideas the Marauders had ever invented or performed. The other was his Mother's own personal journal, she'd apparently been writing a note in it in class and McGonagall had confiscated it. But that was the one book he hadn't read yet, he wasn't sure it would be right to take a peek at his Mother's personal thoughts but he was very happy that Remus had sent it.

Mrs Weasley had sent him some of her homemade Brownies and other baked goods, Ron had sent him a giant box of chocolate frogs. Hagrid had sent him a book on magical creatures and a batch of rock cakes. And Fred and George had sent him some of their merchandise, all of it brilliant.

He'd also made a couple of wind chimes from string and the remaining shards of glass from the mirror. He'd learned somewhere that they were a good early warning system. The tower room was quite cool so he didn't need to keep windows open and he'd plugged up all the draughts. He'd placed each charm over his doors and windows, since there wasn't a draught anything that disturbed them had to either be caused by him, Hedwig, Mir or Silvera. If it wasn't caused by them opening a door or whatever then the logical solution was that someone had gained entry to his room.

He wasn't taking any chances; he'd placed as many wards as he could around the room. And was only waiting until he learnt how to do it before performing the fidelus charm, after all it was the ultimate protection. But it was a very difficult ward to learn on your own.

Mir stretched, breaking him out of his contemplations. The little cat had also changed in the month he'd had him. No longer a kitten but a sleek powerful predator, nothing but firm muscle, shiny white fur with sharp claws and teeth. But he was still affectionate to Harry and his friends even though he often brought home decapitated mice, which had ensured Harry mastered the cleaning charm pretty quickly.

Hedwig and Silvera were currently off hunting leaving Harry to his thoughts. Glancing back at the paper beside him on his bed he contemplated his first month at school. Everything had changed really when he'd found out Silay was Snape's younger brother. He could still remember their conversation.

_"You're a Snape!"_

_Silay had chuckled as he led the way into his office. After a minute Harry had come out of his shock enough to follow him. Silay's office had wall to wall mahogany book shelves, a large desk and not a single potions ingredient could be seen. Most of the books seemed to consist of books on curses and spell creations. There had been a couple of potions books that looked like they had never been opened. The rest seemed to be a mixture of other subjects. While Harry had been staring Silay had took his seat behind the desk and now that Harry's attention was back on him he had gestured for Harry to take the one in front. _

_"I believe you have had the pleasure of meeting my older brother. He has told me much about you Harry, most of it false I'm pleased to say." He smiled gently when he saw the still dazed look on Harry's face. "It's a little much to take in isn't it?"_

_"You're telling me." Harry replied. "I never knew Snape had a brother." He said more to himself than to Silay._

_"Ah yes, Severus isn't really one to talk about his family. Very few people in the real world even know I exist. He is rather protective; he visits me here instead of allowing me to visit him. Says it is too dangerous for me to be known by his enemies. If he were ever to be revealed as a traitor to the Dark Side then they would target me to draw him out."_

_Harry nodded, he could understand that. He was still a little shocked that his mentor was related to his most hated Professor. Then again you never know there might be someone worse than Snape at Mysteria. _

_"Your Godfather, Remus came to this school didn't he?" Silay asked after the silence had stretched a little too long. _

_"Yes, but shouldn't you know that already?"_

_Silay chuckled. "Not if I didn't check the records and see his name no. My brother had spoken of him of course but because of the protections he couldn't tell me that the man came here. Calfora told me last night, she seems to think he will be important in the future."_

_"Well she would know wouldn't she."_

_Silay just nodded silently. _

_"So how much younger are you?"_

_Harry had realised the moment he said it that it wasn't really any of his business but Silay hadn't seemed to think it was an impertinent question._

_"Six years." He answered. _

_"Did you go to Hogwarts?"_

_"No, Severus never forgave me for going to Durmstrang instead of him. Our Father was rather strict and often cruel, for some reason he didn't want us going to school together. Severus was sent to Hogwarts, I to Durmstrang."_

_"What's it like there?" Harry asked, he'd always wondered about the other schools. _

_"Depressing." The other man answered shortly._

Harry chuckled to himself, he'd learned more about Durmstrang over the last month than he'd ever need. Silay and he had talked about their respective backgrounds. He now had more than a mentor in Silay, he had another friend.

He'd settled into life here quite easily, his chat with Calfora putting his fears to rest that anyone could find him. Even though at the time he'd only had a day in which to be almost anonymous he'd still found himself dreading being forced to go back to Hogwarts and deal with all the attention, he couldn't imagine what the year would have been like for him otherwise.

But for now he had a break from his fame, hopefully he would be ready for it when he finally had to face it.

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A/N... The water info came from Wikipedia if anyones interested. Well that was my longest chapter so far and I've finally put in some of the classes, so let me know what you think.

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	11. Chapter 11

_**Summary**…Just days after the DOM a mysterious letter arrives and Harry is faced with a decision. Reject the offer and continue on the path Dumbledore has set for him or forge a new one and challenge every opinion ever forced on him. _

**SLASH. Creature fic, new school, Grey/Powerful Harry, possibility of Mpreg but will maybe take a vote on it… **

**Oh if anything else warning worthy develops I will put the warning in the authors note. I'll also try to highlight it in the text. K?**

_A/N…Right as stated in the summary this is **SLASH** so i would hope that anyone whose got to this point has got that by now, so remember if you don't_ _like it don't read it. **HBP and eventual DH **spoliers, but I think most people will have read that by now, so just in case. Will mention **Mpreg **but it isnt likely it will actually happen in the story. Could do but i doubt it. _

_Sorry I havent mentioned anybody here, i'm going to try and reply to everyones review directly instead of in the chapter. The only time i'll put a reply in the chapter is when it addresses something that I think needs explaining._

_**Pairing news... **I recieved a few more votes for ocs but Remus is still in the lead. And I am considering a threesome but I'm not yet sure whether the characters figuring out the dynamics of their relationship would ruin the story. I'll keep you posted but I will not go with the threesome unless I am entirely comfortable with it. _

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Flashbacks and memories whether from Harry's life outside of Mysteria or inside it will be in italics.

_A/N…I am very sorry it took so long to update. I've been having internet problems and then laptop problems. I am actually using a computer from the stone age right now that can only hold off from crashing long enough for me to check emails. So, sorry but hopefully I'll be back to the normal updating schedule now. Still havent got my computer situation sorted but it's a bit better now. _

_I was asked why Harry was wondering what would be happening over the next year as he was getting the memories from his other self. So just in case anyone else was still a little confused as to the double, I thought I'd take this opportunity to explain a little more. Harry is effectively living a double life, the difference is that it isn't a single person living through separate events. In this case it is one person and an animated copy of him. The copy is living the other life for Harry, he does as Harry would do in every situation, he's just a little more self-preserving. Think of the copy as a Slytherin, Slytherins are all about self-preservation after all. _

_Even though the copy is a separate entity to Harry there is still a connection. This allows Harry to receive the memories of his double from the past twenty four hours. While he sleeps Harry essentially downloads and runs the memories of his previous self, but just as a computer can't download a program that hasn't been invented yet. Neither Harry or his copy can see what will be happening in a day, a month or a year. The future is still very much a mystery to them both, (not that the copy really thinks about anything except what he needs to but there ya go). _

_About the self-preserving, not drawing attention to oneself thing. I've got a good example. In HBP where Harry sneaks into Draco's compartment and Draco stuns him and stomps on his nose. Well in this world that hasn't happened. Because A) Copy Harry wouldn't have snuck into the compartment, because he doesn't have the initiative, (he avoids dangerous situations that could reveal him to be not what he appears) and B) Copy Draco wouldn't have the initiative to stun n stomp either. Mainly because doing anything violent (other than trading insults, cos that's been programmed into them) would potentially cause problems. I.e. if Copy Harry had the initiative to report the nose breaking then Copy Draco would be drawing attention to himself and possibly revealing he wasn't all he appeared. _

_Hope that helps. _

_Oh and I was also asked why they needed to learn the muggle methods of survival, the answer for that is what would happen if your wand broke? Not everyone can apparate, or even likes to do it. And definitely not everyone can do wandless magic. So basically you are covering for any eventuality. So they're learning both wizarding and muggle methods._

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_**Mysteria**_

**Chapter Ten**

Harry sighed tiredly, leaning back in his chair. He hated Rituals. He really did. He could see the uses of the class but that didn't mean he had to like it. He was thankful that the damn thing only lasted one year. Sitting forward he rolled up his now dry parchment, closed his book and returned it to the shelf next to his desk by leaning slightly out of his chair and stretching his arm as far as it could go. He didn't have the energy to even stand up right now. The Library was quiet for midday on a Saturday. Neville was in a meeting with his Mentor Kire. Chrysan was putting in an extra half hour training before starting his homework. And Melaisa was over at another desk surrounded by a mountain of books and papers. She'd been here for hours, working on one assignment then immediately moving on to the next one, the books she'd used for the last just being pushed aside before she began again.

Harry had joined her after his customary lie in. After all it was a Saturday, no matter the amount of work he had he needed a lie in. He'd already completed his potions and rituals essays. He still had to practice a spell for healing class on Monday. He had an essay for transfiguration, also due on Monday and a spell to learn for Friday's lesson. There was no homework for DADA, which currently made it his favourite lessons. It always had been before but no matter the lesson, getting homework demoted them from favour for a week. It was tiring enough doing the classwork let alone homework. If he finished researching his Blood Magic formulas today he'd have nothing else to do for Monday's afternoon classes, transfiguration being in the morning, which meant he might for once have an entire lunch time to relax.

He had until Tuesday to figure out what the first curse he wanted to create would do for IOC, which wasn't going well, he wasn't exactly the most creative person around, never having access to drawing pencils, musical instruments, books or even TV (regularly) his imagination seemed to have suffered horribly.

He didn't have an essay for Dark Arts as they had just finished their theory work and would be moving on to the practical aspects of the course this week. A lot of it had been debate work, arguing for and against the use of 'Dark' spells. Harry'd had serious reservations about the lesson from the beginning but after the first lesson his opinions had changed a little. Now he was quite looking forward to learning the Dark Arts. It was magic, powerful magic but exactly the same as the 'Light' magic he used everyday.

The argument of course that had convinced him was being called a hypocrite, as another student helpfully pointed out, he was taking Blood Magic and learning to invent his own curses and had made no secret of wanting to take Necromancy in his second year. If he was willing to work his will on people by using their blood and 'reanimating corpses' then why couldn't he use a 'Dark' spell?

That had gotten him thinking. And really the other guy was right. He'd already used an unforgivable on someone and he'd do so again if he ever came face to face with her. Neville would do the same, there was no doubt about that, the other boy had become a lot more confidant since coming to Mysteria, the teachers working with his strength as opposed to either giving up on him or belittling him had made a huge difference to him.

Yes both their opinions had changed but it was more than that for Harry.

Since he'd heard the prophecy he'd been obsessing over what it would mean. He didn't really dwell on his own death, it was a possibility but what really frightened him was what he'd become if he survived. He didn't want to be a murderer.

That debate had made him look at his life a little more closely. His earliest memory involved Avada Kedavra, fair to well he hadn't cast it but that green light had still touched him.

The next memory of importance had been his confrontation with Quirrell. He remembered thinking that he had to hold on to the man, that if he kept hold of him he'd keep it safe. Quirrell had screamed and he'd still held on. Harry had killed him. He hadn't meant to but it had still happened. He was already a murderer. The revelation had hit him hard. He'd spent half a week sulking before Chrysan had knocked him out of it.

_He'd been sitting on his bed, absently stroking Mir as Silvera slept in his lap. He'd left the door open so that if Mir chose he could get up and leave without Harry having to open the door for him. He kept thinking about adding a cat flap but didn't know how that would affect the wards on the room._

"_You've been brooding again." the quiet voice made him start, Silvera woke up hissing and Mir hissed and hid under the bed. _

_Harry'd almost hissed himself. "Do you have to surprise people?"_

_Chrysan chuckled before entering the room proper. He gracelessly dropped onto Harry's bed, regarding him with his perceptive eyes. Harry tried hard not to think about an almost naked man sprawled across his bed. No man could fail to appreciate the demons beauty, anyone would react to it and Harry certainly was doing that. Especially since the mans garment of choice was a loincloth! Neville had been trying to get the demon into trousers, so far he'd had no luck._

"_You've been brooding."_

_Harry looked at the demon in disbelief. "So what if I have?" he'd asked defensively. _

_Chrysan just shook his head. "Harry, do you know that your eyes dim when you do that?"_

_The strange comment knocked him out of his frustration. "Huh?"_

"_When you allow things to consume you they harm the soul. You close everything off, your eyes shutter. I do not like seeing it."_

"_You don't understand!"_

"_I understand, you have things on your mind. People go through it every day but the difference between someone who broods and someone who works through their problems is survival." He saw Harry's confusion and continued. "You have been distracted, distant, how would you have responded if challenged in that state, no one has made the attempt yet but you will become awfully tempting if this state continues. If someone saw your inattention and tried to make a name for themselves by killing you, would you see it coming with your first year skills or would you fall. You have said to all of us, don't travel alone if you can help it. We don't but what do you do when you brood, remain alone, with the door open…" He gestured. "So lost in thought you didn't hear me, even when I made deliberate noise to alert you. Inattention like that will get you killed here Harry. Now tell me what is worrying you and I will try to help."_

_Chrysan was right, so Harry told him. The demon had listened to all his fears, his hatred of what he had done. Then he had quite literally told him he was an idiot. _

"_A murderer Harry in my mind is someone who does something unforgivable, he takes the life of someone and ruins the lives of countless others. You did no such thing, killing this Quirrell did no harm to the world. The man was twisted, he believed that Voldemort's policies were right and he would have done anything to see him accomplish it Harry. It was justice what you did. Life should not be taken for any other reason, except maybe to give relief to those who are suffering. You are not a murderer Harry and everybody who matters knows that. I'm not saying some people wont think that of you, it is human nature to be different but your friends will understand. Forget about this and concentrate on other things. The Dark Arts won't change you. Look at this man Snape you tell me about. He may not be perfect, he may use the Dark Arts but he is on the light side. He's gray, in my mind the best thing to be." _

After that he'd forgotten about his fear of the Dark Arts and had begun enjoying the lessons on debate. He'd spent more time listening than participating in the various questions their Master brought up, but the more informed he was the better he felt about the lessons. They would be beginning practical Dark Arts lessons on Tuesday and he couldn't wait.

Stretching Harry glanced around, the library was still pretty empty. Quiet, the best environment to research formulas for Blood Magic in. But he didn't want to. Suddenly he remembered something he'd been promising to do for weeks. After a quick word with Melaisa he headed back out into the main library.

Madam Pierce was the school librarian and she reminded Harry too much of Madam Pince for him to be comfortable around her. She was a severe looking woman, younger than Madam Pince but still as strict and authoritarian around her books. She made Harry wonder if all Librarians were so protective over their domains.

"Excuse me Madam where could I find the record book for previous students?"

Wordlessly the woman pointed to the alcove directly opposite the desk, he'd walked right past it. He blushed, smiled sheepishly but didn't see a softening of the woman's facial expression. Sighing he went to the book, wondering why Librarians seemed to be generally disapproving of anyone wanting to actually look at a book. Maybe he just had bad luck with the Librarians he'd met.

The alcove was a cylindrical shaped depression off the Reception area. In the centre of the 'room' was a plinth with a thick book bound in green leather, surrounding the plinth was a circular cushioned bench.

The book was embossed in silver, the title 'Student Records' seemed rather ordinary for such an ornamental looking book. Opening it he found a list of instructions. Basically all he had to do was place his wand on the first page and either state the name of the person he wanted to look up or the year in which they would have entered the school.

Since he knew two people who'd come to the school he decided to look them up by year first. Taking out his wand he placed it on the book and stated clearly after a bit of math, "1976".

Immediately the pages began to flip, in a matter of moments over three quarters of the pages had been turned before it came to a stop. Writing filled the pages, a list of names and other things. Columns of facts, time taken to reach the school, the school that they went to previously and so on. One column indicated date of death (if applicable), another if the student had been an Apprentice and one marked Special Considerations.

Trailing his finger down the list of names he realised that they weren't in alphabetical order but in order of when they walked through the doors. At the bottom were those who had died before entering.

Looking at the list he noticed Remus had been the second person to enter the school that year, Severus the fourth and further down in sixteenth place…

"Lily Evans."

The sudden flipping of the pages startled him and by the time he realised they'd stopped he was gazing at a picture of his Mother. She was smiling and had her arms wrapped around two other people, neither of which could be seen in the shot. The information was barely a page long but Harry still devoured it, he didn't know much about his Mother. Most people seemed to want to talk about his Dad.

_**Lily Jane Evans**_

_Born: 30__th__ January 1960_

_Married: Pureblood, James Landon Potter (20__th__ June 1979)_

_Children: Half-Blood, Harry James Potter (Born 31__st__ July 1980)_

_Ancestry: Predominantly Muggle but includes introduction of several undetermined Squib lines._

_Term of Schooling: August 1__st__ 1976 - February 10__th__ 1977._

_Memories Terminated: N/A. Recommendation made by divinatory professor Cassandra Valblatsky to leave this student's memory intact. Student left with all knowledge gained at Mysteria in her sixth months of schooling._

Harry stared at the page in complete shock.

His Mother came here. She came to this school but only stayed six months! Why did she leave? He decided to read on to try and find out.

_Species: Human_

_Apprenticeship: N/A_

_Special Abilities: None_

_Intelligence: Considerable, but varied within subjects._

_Magical Talent: Considerable_

_Magical Control: Variable depending upon subject._

_Creativity: Considerable_

_Mind Defences: Negligible _

_Best Academic Performance: Charms_

_Worst Academic Performance: The Dark Arts_

_First Year Optional Subjects: Defensive Magic, Rituals, Runes, Arithmancy, Wizarding Politics and Occlumency and Legilimency._

_Second Year Optional Subjects: N/A_

_Third Year Optional Subjects: N/A_

_Career Goals: Auror_

_Scholastic Achievements: N/A_

_After School Achievements: Became Head-Girl at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Began Auror Training but took a sabbatical whilst pregnant. _

_Notes: Owing to personal reasons student decided not to continue her schooling. Had possibility of becoming an Apprentice in several fields, most notably Potions and Charms._

_Special notes: Regarding possible offspring, it is highly likely based on magical potential of the Mother that any child produced would be a viable candidate for Mysteria._

Harry sighed, it wasn't much but it helped him understand his Mother a little better. Now though he just had a lot of questions to ask Remus in his next letter.

Speaking of Remus.

"Remus Lupin."

The pages again turned but this time instead of continuing towards the back the pages turned back towards the front. Remus' picture was a surprise. Never really seeing the other man as anything other than a Professor/Mentor he'd never really thought of him as a student. He'd seen Remus in Snape's memory of course but he hadn't been paying attention then, much more interested in his Father and Sirius. Remus Lupin had looked good, there was no way of getting around it. If they'd both been in school at the same time Harry would definitely have fancied him. The younger Remus though tired, with strain around his eyes and aging features was undeniably attractive. He wore his hair quite long, or at least longer than he'd ever seen the man wear it. It reached his shoulders and hung in soft waves. There was no gray in the colour and Harry saw that when allowed to grow out he had a rather distinctive shade, honey or toffee, he couldn't make up his mind which one.

Both Remus and his Mothers pictures had been taken one after the other. He could see his Mother's arm cutting into the picture from the side. She had her arm around Remus' waist as Harry knew he had one about hers. They were both wearing their own clothes. Remus's shabbier than anyone else's which meant the photos had to have been taken during the first night. Harry could see the marble steps behind them and could tell that they didn't know the photos had been taken. They weren't posing or smiling fakely, but genuinely at something one of them had said, both of them slightly turned towards each other.

Looking away Harry began to read Remus' info.

_**Remus John Lupin**_

_Born: March 10__th__ 1960_

_Married: N/A_

_Children: N/A_

_Ancestry: Half-Blood, but predominantly Pureblood family._

_Term of Schooling: August 1__st__ 1976 - June 30__th__ 1981_

1981? Harry was shocked. Remus hadn't finished school until after he was born, had Remus even been around during the only year he'd spent with his family and their friends? And if he was, was it him or just his double that had been there? He definitely had questions to ask the older man.

_Species: Werewolf_

_Apprenticeship: Joint Apprenticeship of Blood Magic and Conjuring. _

_Special Abilities: Extraordinarily high tolerance of pain. In situations of extreme pain student seems to go into a trance-like state and does not feel anything until he is snapped out of it. _

"Shit! Never knew that." Harry exclaimed. Although he supposed it made sense though, Remus was a Werewolf. But the record seemed to imply his pain tolerance was stronger than normal, so didn't that mean it was stronger than other Werewolves his age?

That was dangerous, extremely dangerous. If Remus didn't feel pain like a normal person then in a battle situation he could get hit with a cutting curse and bleed to death and never notice. That was a serious weakness, not something that should be available to just anyone. That was something that only a nurse should know. Or someone Remus had told himself.

_Animagus: Yes._

"WHAT? You have got to be kidding me. No one ever mentioned that… Remus you have a lot to answer for."

_Intelligence: Very High_

_Magical Talent: High / Very High. Depending on Lunar Cycle._

_Magical Control: Very High_

_Creativity: High. Strong ability to blend different disciplines to create new effects._

_Mind Defences: Occlumens through Lycanthropy, Legilimens through study._

_Best Academic Performance: Spell Casting, DADA, Dark Arts, Conjuring, Blood Magic._

_Worst Academic Performance: Rituals._

_First Year Optional Subjects: Rituals, Conjuring, Essence/Spirit Magic, Blood Magic, Spell Casting and Occlumency and Legilimency._

_Second Year Optional Subjects: Defensive Magic, Spell Casting (2__nd__ year), Transformations, Spell Crafting, Inv of Curses, Necromancy._

_Third Year Optional Subjects: Offensive Magic, Necromancy (2__nd__ year), Spell Crafting (2__nd__ year), Inv of Curses (2__nd__ year), Transportation via will and Sex Magic. _

"OH MERLIN! Remus took Sex Magic!" Harry was utterly gob smacked. From everything he'd heard about Remus he would never have said the man was the type. Then again he was a Marauder.

'Wow, you think you know a person.' Harry smirked, the Marauder in him relishing the thought of teasing Remus.

_Career Goals: Spell Crafter, Conjuror._

_Scholastic Achievements: Using a combination of Spell Crafting, Conjuring and Essence/Spirit Magic student was able to create a spell that can be fused with either an object or a person. The spell reveals either a mental or physical map, showing detailed environments, access spells for gaining entry to secured facilities, the locations of people and in some instances the person's thoughts and intentions. Spell has been modified in intensity for various purposes. _

_Student has also created several mainstream spells and curses. The majority of which are improvements on standard healing spells. Spells include, a charm to remove infections from the blood (Continues to experiment with this, intending to cure Lycanthropy). _

_Has worked on refining wand movements in various fields, decreasing the movement and therefore the time needed to cast. _

_After School Achievements: Achievements few due to prejudicial nature of the Wizarding World in general. Served as a test subject for Potions Master Mir Fasari during creation of the Wolfsbane. And continues to offer assistance in finding a true cure._

_**Final Grades: **_

_Student attained his Mastery in both Blood Magic and Conjuring. _

_First Year… _

_Transfiguration: Outstanding_

_Charms: Outstanding_

_DADA: Outstanding_

_Dark Arts: Outstanding_

_Potions: Exceeds Expectations_

_Herbology: Acceptable_

_Healing: Acceptable_

_Natural Magic: Exceeds Expectations_

_Rituals: Acceptable_

_Conjuring: Outstanding_

_Essence/Spirit Magic: Exceeds Expectations_

_Blood Magic: Outstanding_

_Spell Casting: Outstanding_

_Occlumency and Legilimency: Outstanding_

_Second Year…_

_Transfiguration: Outstanding_

_Charms: Outstanding_

_DADA: Outstanding_

_Dark Arts: Outstanding_

_Potions: Acceptable_

_Herbology: Acceptable_

_Healing: Acceptable_

_Defensive Magic: Outstanding_

_Spell Casting (2__nd__ year): Outstanding_

_Transformations: Acceptable_

_Spell Crafting: Exceeds Expectations_

_Inv of Curses: Exceeds Expectations_

_Necromancy: Acceptable_

_Third Year…_

_Transfiguration: Outstanding_

_Charms: Outstanding_

_DADA: Outstanding_

_Dark Arts: Outstanding_

_Potions: Exceeds Expectations_

_Herbology: Acceptable_

_Healing: Exceeds Expectations_

_Offensive Magic: Outstanding_

_Necromancy (2__nd__ year): Exceeds Expectations_

_Spell Crafting (2__nd__ year): Outstanding_

_Inv of Curses (2__nd__ year): Exceeds Expectations_

_Transportation via will: Exceeds Expectations_

_Sex Magic: Exceeds Expectations_

_Special notes: Was offered a Professorship after the former instructor was promoted but for personal reasons declined._

"Well." Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes. "That was informative. Especially the Exceeds Expectations in Sex Magic. I think Remus might be getting a very embarrassing letter in the near future." Harry smirked.

Chuckling to himself he took a glance at the main library, it had filled up considerably while he was checking the records. He didn't know if he had the energy to check Snapes record. And he really should go and finish his Blood Magic homework. The record would be here tomorrow and the day after that. And right now he would rather deal with Blood Magic formulas and symbols than Snape, in any form. His other self's defence lessons were bad enough, without bringing Snape into his life here.

He closed the book with a little reluctance but stopped before he could walk more than a pace. On the floor where he hadn't noticed it before was an old, frayed at the edges, book. He glanced at it curiously wondering how Madam Pierce had missed that. He better return it to its shelf or she'd have his hide thinking he'd done it.

"Now where do you go." Harry mused aloud. The book wasn't overly large but when Harry picked it up he noticed it was bound in leather with silver skulls and pale gemstone ornamentations. The spine proclaimed the book to be 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'.

Glancing inside Harry saw it was nothing more than a collection of Wizarding children's tales. Without a second thought he returned it to its shelf.

He wouldn't think about that book again for another year.

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Harry awoke Sunday morning, the memories of his 'lesson' with Dumbledore playing through his mind. It had been a strange thing, he'd been expecting to be taught some of the magic he'd seen Dumbledore using against Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries. Nothing made sense, the memory, the ring, Dumbledore's injury. Harry really couldn't see the importance of what he'd been told. So he put it out of his mind until Dumbledore decided to tell him more.

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It was breakfast on Monday morning when Harry received a letter from Remus. He eagerly finished his breakfast, made his excuses to his friends and ran back up to his room to read the letter in private. He didn't want to read Remus' answer around his friends, a few of the questions he'd been asked had been rather personal. Absentmindedly disabling the wards on his bed and avoiding the cat that was winding around his ankles, Harry flopped down on his bed and took out the letter.

_Harry_

_First of all how are you? You seemed to be a little excited when writing your letter and forgot to tell me that. Second, FINALLY I thought you'd never read that record. It's a bit of a bother al this secrecy, especially when you want to tell somebody that there Mother went to the school that they are currently attending. _

_She didn't stay long no. Do you remember what I told you on your first day, how the Headmaster used to let us go home on weekends and holidays? Well your Father had been asking your Mother out for years and I don't know I guess she just got used to it. I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder. One day in February, he just happened to ask her out. Not really expecting anything to come of it, he'd been asking for years and I think had started getting used to rejection (didn't stop him from trying though). So anyway, he asked and she accepted. I wish you could have seen his face Harry, I've never seen anyone so shocked in my life. I don't think he believed her at first, thought Snape was playing a prank. One day I'll have to show you the memory. I'm sure Dumbledore would lend us his pensieve. After that I don't think she ever looked back. Barely a day later she was pulling me aside and telling me that when I went back I was to tell her Mentor and the friends she'd made. After that whenever I came home your parents were inseparable, completely and totally in love. I don't think even Voldemort bursting through the doors of the Great Hall could have stopped them from staring at each other._

_As for my studies, well what can I say I was a teenager same as anybody else. And while we're trying to embarrass people, I bet you've taken the subject yourself. I could tell you exactly what to expect. You see Harry when two people love each other very much…_

Harry squirmed. _'Alright, alright you win!'_ There was no doubt Remus was a Marauder, Harry just didn't have the experience to take him on, there was no way he wanted to have that sort of conversation with Remus, even if it was in a letter.

…_only kidding Harry._

'_I'm going to kill him.' _Harry vowed, '_either that or get my own back, there's gotta be some dirt I can dig up on him around here.'_

Remus was right though he was taking sex magic so he couldn't really tease Remus without expecting the older man to do the same.

_And Don't forget Harry I was around during your first year of life and I have plenty of other embarrassing stories I could let slip to our favourite potions master. _

'_Huh.' _Maybe he wouldn't do anything after all, it suddenly seemed the safer option.

_You can't win against a Marauder lad. _

Harry chuckled. He was beginning to see that.

_I am an animagus, I never told James or anybody either. I couldn't really have explained it to them at the time. I used to tell them everything so they would have known I'd never studied the transformation. I took the lesson in seventh year and it came naturally to me. It didn't take me long to complete the transformation. They knew I hadn't been studying it before hand and it would have raised too many questions if I managed the transformation in less than a year. So I kept it secret, it's served me really well. No one knows I can do it, well except you and anyone else whose read that bloody record. When you get out of school it can be another thing I'll have to show you. I would have told them eventually, I would have just waited a little to make it easier to explain._

_Regarding anything academic, well do you find it so hard to believe that I would want to help find a cure for Lycanthropy?_

A little surprised by the sudden change in the letters tone Harry looked back on his words in his own letter and realised he might have been a little harsh on the man. He hadn't intended it to seem that way, he hadn't been angry when he'd started writing but somehow he'd ended up almost ranting in the end. He didn't like Remus risking himself. It might be selfish, but he wanted the other man around. Apart from that rat Peter and Snape, there was no one left who could tell him about his parents, or Sirius. He liked Remus, the man was the only adult who actually treated him like he had his own mind. Or at least he used to be, now he had teachers that saw him as an adult and not as James and Lily's little boy. Remus had never seen him that way. Even when he was thirteen the man had treated him like he was older, trusting him to learn magic that should have been too advanced for someone his age. And only really telling him off when he was recklessly endangering his life. But even then Remus hadn't dressed him down, hadn't made him feel like a child, he'd just shown his disappointment. One adult to another.

_I was quite happy to help Mir in her research, not only did it help other people Harry, it helped me as well. And speaking as a Werewolf I would go through all the testing again to have the wolfs bane potion. I may have a high threshold for pain but even I am defeated by it. And since 'my trance' only serves in battles or duels I'll take what kind of relief I can for everyday life. _

_My own studies are progressing nicely enough, I am working with a healer friend of mine, he performs my newly written spells on me prior to each full moon. I feel a little less pain each month but we are nowhere near a cure as of yet. I will continue with my research Harry, despite the pain it costs me._

_As for not accepting the teaching position they offered me before. Well it was for the post of Conjuring Professor, Calfora had just been promoted. I was offered the place and I considered it but there was a war going on and even though people believed I wasn't of much use I wanted to help. But there was another reason, I wanted to spend time with my friends. Even though I had seen them, it wasn't enough. I wanted to spend time with my friends and their new baby. With you all being in hiding I saw less of you than what I wished, some of that of course was your parents and Sirius' belief that I was the spy, either way I knew that I would see even less of you if I took the teaching position. So for those reasons I chose not to._

Harry sat quietly for a while, just thinking over what Remus had said. It seemed so wrong. Remus wasn't treated as a human even by his own friends. And Harry really felt bad for telling the older man he shouldn't risk himself as he did. Remus had suffered for being a werewolf, what right did he have to question it if even the man's best friends didn't trust him. What other reason could there be, other than the fact that Remus was a werewolf to make them believe he was a spy. If they could believe Peter over Remus, then to Harry a little bit of prejudice had to be there, for Remus was the most trustworthy person he knew. Harry shook his head. No he didn't have a reason to question Remus.

_As to your final question, yes I did come up with the concept of the Marauder's Map on my own. It was a little side project I began in my first year, using Blood Magic, Essence Magic and Conjuring. I finished it in my first year with a little help from my mentor, the Spell Crafting teacher. I told my friends about it, knowing how useful it would be to us. I did all the bits that I knew they would protest against, the blood magic and so on beforehand. All they did was help place the spell on the parchment but I never told them that, they always believed that we did everything together. But they wouldn't have understood the necessity of Blood and Essence Magic, to them that would have been Dark Arts. And if they thought that, they might have then turned me in as a Deatheater instead of just having suspicions. _

_And yes, my doppelganger is the reason why my friends thought I was a bit of a spoilsport. I still pranked and joked with them even though I was a Prefect but once my doppelganger took my place and began 'playing it safe' they began calling me names. That's the only downside to going to Mysteria Harry, to your friends you may still be present in their lives Harry, but in reality you are only a spectator. Your lack of interaction, even though they don't know its there, still affects everything. And you don't know what it will do to your friendship until you're back. _

_Now I thought I should give you an update on what's happening back home. I know you get a lot of news at the school but I thought I'd give you a bit more personal detail. To begin with I hear Snape is sure you are trying to lure him into a false sense of security. He can't seem to understand why you aren't rising to his baiting. Silay because of the protections obviously can't tell his brother who his new student is. Then again I don't think it would take long for Snape to figure it out on his own. So expect a howler or something when he does. _

_I have heard from Mrs Weasley, I know you'll know both Ron and Hermione are well but I thought I'd tell you anyway. Dumbledore has no idea that your doppelganger isn't really you. He actually told me he's rather glad you appear to be knuckling down and not getting into fights with Malfoy. Although the Slytherins and Gryffindors seem to be a little bewildered by it. As for the Order, nothing is really happening. Voldemort and his Deatheaters are still participating in raids, Snape gives us as much information as he can for us to prevent it or help in the aftermath. Other than that there is nothing new on that front. Sorry. Hope everything's well there, next time give me a little detail of what's going on in your life instead of so many questions. Only kidding, Harry. _

_Remus_

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A/N…I checked the Harry Potter Lexicon for all the dates and so on so everything is as accurate as I can make it. If somethings wrong then please tell me. I made up the date of James/Lilys wedding. Only other thing I'm unsure on is that on the Lexicon there seemed to be debate on whether his parents got together in their seventh year or not. For the purpose of this fic they got together in what would be their Hogwarts sixth year. Oh and just in case anyone doesn't know, N/A means Not Applicable. Meaning the situation or subject does not apply to the person.


	12. Chapter 12

**_Summary_**_…Just days after the DOM a mysterious letter arrives and Harry is faced with a decision. Reject the offer and continue on the path Dumbledore has set for him or forge a new one and challenge every opinion ever forced on him. _

**SLASH. Creature fic, new school, Grey/Powerful Harry, possibility of Mpreg but will maybe take a vote on it… **

**Oh if anything else warning worthy develops I will put the warning in the authors note. I'll also try to highlight it in the text. K?**

_Sorry I haven't mentioned anybody here, i'm going to try and reply to everyones review directly instead of in the chapter. The only time i'll put a reply in the chapter is when it addresses something that I think needs explaining._

_A/N…Right as stated in the summary this is **SLASH** so i would hope that anyone whose got to this point has got that by now, so remember if you don't_ _like it don't read it. **HBP and eventual DH **spoilers, but I think most people will have read that by now, so just in case. Will mention **Mpreg **but it isnt likely it will actually happen in the story. Possibly in the sequel. Could do but i doubt it. _

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**_Pairing news... Hello everyone, major pairing news. Ok first of all I didn't change this section on the last chapter because I forgot. After that I lost my poll chart so I went back and counted them all and made doubly sure no one was voting more than once. Results have because of that drastically changed. Chrysan is the pairing winner. So the main relationship which again doesn't happen until the sequel will be Harry/Chrysan. But I have decided so as not to disappoint all those people who thought it would be Harry/Remus, that I will post not one, but two versions of the sequel. One will have the Harry/Chrysan pairing and the other Harry/Remus. Hope that meets with everyone's approval. _**

**_P.s. I'm sorry it took so long to update I've had a bit of a bad time recently. We're struggling a bit for money because of the recession and my Aunt died the other month. It's been a bit hectic so I'm sorry I haven't had time to reply to the majority of reviews I got for the last chapter. I promise I will sit down and reply to them in a couple of days when I will hopefully have time. ^_^ _**

**_Oh and I know I promised a few of you a really really long chapter, well sorry I had to cut a scene and move it to the next one as I had no muse for it. If I wait to write that scene you wouldnt have gotten an update today. So I apologise, the chapter is still about fifteen pages long so hopefully its enough. I will be updating again soon. Hopefully next weekend as well. _**

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**_Mysteria_**

Chapter Eleven

It was a Wednesday not long before Halloween when the bottom half of the school was rocked by an explosion. The force of it was enough to rattle the floor causing Harry to do an incorrect wand movement. His spell, bright purple in colour which was a very odd colour for a stunning spell, just missed hitting Malfoy in the back. The blonde turned to glare at him but Harry just shrugged. It wasn't his damn fault that the school decided to rattle like a box of every flavour beans. Although he did seem to be responsible for quite a high number of incidents, this one certainly hadn't been his fault.

The moment break came all of the first years hurried off to see what had happened. When they finally tracked down the location of the morning's occurrence they were met by a magnificent hole in the Potions classroom's outer wall.

"Huh, now there's a thing." Chrysan muttered and Harry had to agree with him.

Harry had seen plenty of potions accidents in his time, caused quite a few himself but he'd never seen one do this amount of damage. The wall around the hole was charred black and small pieces kept flaking off and floating or thudding to the floor. Half of the floor's stone work was also cracked and blackened and a load of rubble, no doubt blown out by the force of the explosion was at the other end of the corridor. A very long corridor.

It was one hell of an accident.

Looking around Harry realised none of the older years were present. All of the first years had come running from their various classes but no older year had even walked past the area. They were obviously used to seeing stuff like this, but still, where was their curiosity?

"They've seen it all before and didn't feel the need to show up and see the castle repair itself again."

Focusing back on what was going on around him Harry saw the head of his Potions Mistress poking out through the gap. She was grimy, her clothes and hands covered in dust and soot that she'd then rubbed off on her nose when she'd pinched it in agitation. No doubt caused by the House Elves helping her clean up. Their natural exuberance annoyed her, which was funny because she was a match for them any day. Since she was looking directly at him he assumed that he'd actually spoken his question aloud. Either that or being able to read minds was a universal trait of all Potions Masters.

And wasn't that a scary thought. Harry mused. She grinned at him playfully as though she did know what he was thinking.

"You lot still have potions first thing this afternoon, so be prepared." Her grin got even wider if possible as she looked from him, to Neville and Chrysan. "We're going to be testing your brewing skills today."

And with that she ducked back inside and a moment later they could hear her ordering house elves about. Feeling sorry for the house elves Harry and his friends hurried off to their next lesson, rituals. Harry already wishing he was back there cleaning instead.

Surprisingly, what she'd said was actually good news. As the three of them hadn't done one single bit of brewing since they'd started classes. Oh yes they'd chopped ingredients, even put a couple in cauldrons to test their reactivity but that was all. They hadn't actually created a full potion and despite himself he was really looking forward to it.

0000

Both after lunch periods on Wednesday were reserved for potions. Harry had always dreaded double lessons of potions but he found himself enjoying them at Mysteria. Part of it was that they weren't stuck in a creepy dungeon with loads of dead things on the wall. The absence of pickled creatures seemed to lighten the mood, allowing for more concentration on his part. But the main reason was that he just loved his teacher. She managed to make potions fun, which up until now he hadn't believed possible. After having her as a teacher no wonder Snape had wanted to devote his life to the art. It was just a shame that the git hadn't adopted her style of teaching. Maybe the reason Snape was such a bastard was because he just couldn't live up to the standard set by his last teacher and that rankled.

When he'd first seen her, Harry had been sure there'd been a mistake. He couldn't believe that he was being taught potions by this remarkable woman, the visionary who'd been the one to create the Wolfsbane. He'd read all about her and all the trials of creating the potion last year. When he'd took on extra reading for History of Magic, not trusting Binns to get across the more important points necessary for his OWLs. She was a very remarkable Witch.

He, Neville and Chrysan entered the bright and airy classroom, the three of them still marvelling at how quickly the wall had been replaced. Even as they'd watched it they'd seen the last bit of gap fill itself in and the reduction in the remaining burnt stone. It was just another thing to note about the school. When they'd said it had a mind of its own, they were right. Over the last three months that he'd been here Harry had seen many instances that had convinced him that the school was intelligent. Harry had seen staircase banisters snap, causing students to fall down the stairs then magically fixing once it was over. He'd seen sections of floor disappear out from under whole groups of people. Luckily most of this stuff seemed to be happening to the older years; it seemed they were used to a lot of the schools everyday tricks as hardly anyone got hurt. You could always tell when something that the older years hadn't experienced before happened, like the time that second year had been pounced on by a suit of armour with a mace.

Almost every single first year had experienced something, bar Harry. Whether it was just them alone or in a group. Harry was the only one who hadn't been attacked by the school. When the other first years had questioned it, Malfoy had been heard to remark that it was just Harry's damnable luck.

And that led to the question, why had nothing ever happened to him?

Chrysan, Neville and Melaisa liked to joke that the school obviously liked him a lot. But all Harry could think then was was it true? Did the school like him more than the other first years? Why?

Even Chrysan and Neville had been the victim of a few pranks. Once a total of four steps from the main staircase had disappeared and Neville had sunk down to his neck. He'd been stuck there for about half an hour before Harry and Chrysan had found him after he didn't show up for breakfast.

And Chrysan, Harry chuckled to himself, the memory of the look on his face always made him giggle. It seemed the school liked to get statues to pinch the demon's arse. Not that he could blame her, it was a very nice arse and he did keep it on view a lot with all those loin cloths he liked to wear. Harry resisted the urge to fan himself, it was very, very hot!

The only times when he saw Chrysan covered up were in lessons like today's, when he had to wear protective robes over his skin. This was a good thing in Harry's opinion as he didn't need a new type of distraction making him bad at potions.

"Hey hey my darlings." She greeted them as they took their seats. "Now today we are actually going to be doing some brewing. I know you've all been a little frustrated with me over the last couple of months. But with Potions it's necessary to get all the basics out of the way first. The two of you who've studied potions before will notice a major difference in your brewing skills after this lesson. Oh and Chrysan don't worry about anything, I assure you that after today you'll definitely feel like all three of you are on the same level. Just because they've had instruction before doesn't mean it was the right instruction."

Harry was surprised, this was the first time she'd mentioned their previous experience in the subject. She'd begun their first lesson as though they were first years at Hogwarts and he'd actually learned more in the three hours he spent with her that first week than he felt he'd ever learned at Hogwarts.

"You don't like Professor Snape?" Neville asked timidly. And Harry was pleased to note that although the boy was still quiet he didn't stutter when he said Snape's name.

She smiled slightly. "Severus is a wonderful man. No he is." She grinned. "Remember dears teacher knows best. He is a good man; he just doesn't show it much. He made some bad choices and it isn't my place to tell you what those were so don't ask but those choices and his general snarky git of a personality didn't make it easy for him to get a job. Severus wanted to follow in my footsteps and research new potions. He was a natural at potions, he was a Master before he even finished his third year. As his teacher and mentor I didn't feel it wise to keep him on for another two years as an apprentice when I knew that he could earn his Mastery right then. I should have kept him on, maybe things would have been different. He took the exam, passed with flying colours as I knew he would and went out into the world. There was a lot of pressure at those times and even though you learn a lot here, it doesn't make you invulnerable and it certainly doesn't make you worldly wise either. He made mistakes, like everyone and paid for it with the loss of his dream. Stuff like that tends to turn anyone bitter. He's an amazing Potions Master, any wizarding company or hospital would be lucky to get him. Instead he's stuck doing a job he feels is unfulfilling. Severus was never a mixer and now he has to surround himself with hundreds of people each day, instead of working on what he wants to do and engaging his brain. He doesn't put any effort into teaching because he doesn't like it, but he's stuck there because of his choices. So yes I like him, I just don't think his methods are brilliant. Now can we get onto the lesson?"

They all nodded, silently thinking about what she had just said.

She smiled charmingly, her white hair catching the light. Whenever he saw her he couldn't help thinking about how much she must have suffered for her art. Mir Fasari, the namesake of his little cat was the inventor of numerous potions, the Wolfsbane potion her most notable to date and she was a vampire. She just didn't look like one.

Her appearance was apparently a direct result of her experimentations with the Wolfsbane formula. Her hair had gone from the traditional vampire's black, to a startling ghostly white. Caused through stress and her many failed attempts before she hit upon the right combination. The effect on her hair was permanent. But the rest of her body, a frail almost emaciated form was due to her continued experimentation with the process. This could be healed if she ended her experiments but she chose not to.

She had never once considered her potion complete and had returned to work on it and others in her spare time, the results of which often took a great toll on her body. When she came to class you could always tell when she'd been experimenting, on the days when she hadn't her vampire healing abilities seemed to have kicked in somewhat and filled out her flesh a little. On other days she appeared as though a skeleton clothed in pale skin, no flesh remaining to cover the bones. And she was still a beautiful woman, even like this.

Harry knew that if she were any other creature she could never do what she did, the lengths she went to and the depths she took her body's devastation to would have surely killed anyone else. Harry considered her a true visionary, someone who cared enough about the world outside herself to do what she could. And she took it to extremes there was no doubt about that.

"I'll start from the beginning shall I? I think you've forgotten what I said earlier. Today class we will finally be getting to do some brewing." Her eyes were alight with anticipation, showing a passion that Snape had never shown, not once in five years. "We will be starting with one of the first year potions and then following up with a second year potion. Hopefully now that we have discussed the basics you will see an improvement in your work. The instructions are in the books which have been spelled to remain open on the correct page to prevent any mix ups. I'll teach you the charm at the end of class; it's a very useful little thing. Anyway the ingredients and tools you need are in the respective baskets beside your cauldrons. Oh-"

She paused abruptly noticing that they didn't actually have anything set up on the desks yet. She waved her hand and wandlessly conjured everything they needed while carrying on with her speech. "You may ask each other for help if you wish but I would prefer you to ask me, as if not I'll just be walking up and down the row looking at what you are doing. And although I love potions it is a little boring to watch with nothing to do yourself. Of course when we get to the higher levels you'll be keeping me on my toes a bit more, for though we all improve with time, we'll never get to the point where we don't cock up."

That startled a laugh out of them. "When you live as long as I do your body gets into a rhythm and you do everything you've done before almost instinctively but when it comes to new stuff, ooh there's mistakes galore. And that is when some of the best discoveries are made. Huh, I'm rambling again aren't I class, please tell me if I do it for I will only stop when I realise and once that took me the whole class period. I've gotten used to hearing my own voice over the years." She glanced at her watch before looking back at the clock on the wall above her desk. Why she checked both Harry would never know and he'd not bothered to ask, he didn't know how long the explanation could last. "This potion should take about half an hour, give or take a bit of time for questions and explanations; we may even get to the third year potion today as well. I love it when they give us three hours together, there's a lot more time to play with." And with that she waved her arm and they, used to her abrupt dismissals of subjects began reading the instructions.

Harry did as she instructed, he read over the instructions twice; the first time familiarising himself with the potion, and the second time picking out particularly troublesome spots. There were two points in the brewing of this potion where easy mistakes could be made. Snape had never explained stuff like this to them. He never told them the differences between slicing and dicing, he just expected them to know them. And although Harry had been cooking for his relatives for years, to him chopping, cutting, slicing and dicing and all the other ways were all the same, as no one had ever shown him how they were different.

Now he knew how precisely to cut things for the best of their properties to be released. An example of this was the shrivel fig, the best method of preparation for this was to skin the thing in one long strip instead of in bits and pieces. This apparently was because the more even the skin and flesh was cut the better it was to pulverise into paste or in other potions, slice while still retaining its juices. And other things like caterpillars had to be cut in their segments instead of just randomly, this was a very precise way of measuring without using something to check the size of the pieces and in a lot of potions the timing of the addition of ingredients was everything.

Harry finally knew why this was the case, Snape had never explained why one minute or one stir could make such a difference to a potion. It was all about boiling points and the breakdown periods of ingredients, or reductions in the thickness of the potion itself, even the neutralisation of poisonous substances or things that reacted badly with following ingredients. It was a lot easier to brew potions when you knew some of the whys and hows behind them, as Harry found out during this particular lesson.

This potion happened to be the simple boil cure potion that Snape had set them in their very first lesson in first year at Hogwarts. I was safe to say that Harry made a much better potion this time. But that wasn't to say his improvement was due to Snape's further teaching or the information Mir had been giving him over the last month. The real tests though would be the third year potion. Next week they would likely be doing potions from fourth and fifth year, as those were more complex and they would need more time to complete them. That was no doubt why Mir was hoping to get the third year potion done this lesson.

Somehow Harry didn't think the second year potion would be Polyjuice. He wondered if he'd ever be able to make that! Well, make it on his own, without any help.

Their second year potion funnily enough was the Swelling Solution. While making it Harry had to fight back a grin remembering Malfoy's face after he got a face full of the stuff. Incidentally that was also the lesson that Hermione stole the ingredients for the Polyjuice potion.

The third year potion was the opposite of the second year potion, the Shrinking Solution. This again for some reason involved a damn Shrivelfig. As Harry cut up the Daisy roots, making sure every single piece was the same size, he again remembered the actual lesson that he'd first made the potion. This time it was the one after Malfoy provoked Buckbeak and manipulated the situation so that Harry and Ron had to do his work for him. The git.

At the end of the lesson, she took their sample vials and hopped up onto her desk.

"Right then, we are now going to be testing these potions to see if you made them correctly." She rolled up her left sleeve, exposing her stick like forearm and then waved her wand arm over it. A moment later three extremely big and painful looking boils appeared, almost dwarfing her arm. She didn't even wince though she just reached blindly for one of the Boil Cure vials and looked at the label.

"Neville's." She pronounced before expertly tipping it to drop a single drop on the first boil. The boil popped and then instantly deflated, the red colour slowly bleaching from her skin. "Perfect! Very well done Neville." She sealed the vial with another spell and put it to her other side. Another wave of her hand and Neville's potion, which like all the others had been saved in separate containers while the next one was brewing, immediately decanted itself into various jars and other containers and stacked themselves on a shelf marked 'Infirmary'.

She then preceded to test all the other. Both Chrysan's and Harry's hadn't been perfect but they'd been perfectly usable. Harry's was a little thin, Chrysan's a little thick. After telling them what they'd done wrong, she took them back over to their cauldrons and directed them on how to fix their potions. Chrysan just needed to add water and Harry just needed to add some extra Shrivelfig pulp. After that both their potions were perfect and became stock for the infirmary.

The testing for the other potions went the same way, she applied a drop of Shrinking Solution to her hand and then fixed it with the Swelling Solution. All of the potions were perfectly made and Neville and Chrysan both left the room at the end with a spring in their steps.

Harry stayed behind, it was break so he wouldn't be late for his next class and he wanted to ask her something.

"What can I do for you Harry?" She asked when she realised he was still there.

"I wanted to ask you something." He said.

"Yes I kind of got that dear." She bounced over to the shelves, leaving Harry to marvel at her energy. She wasn't old for a vampire, not appearing to be much older than twenty but because of her body condition she didn't look like she had the energy to spare. "Why don't you come over here and help me pack this shelf into this box. Then you can be a dear and levitate it to the infirmary for me if you want."

Harry smiled to himself as he headed over and began packing the potions they'd made today and other medicinal potions she'd made.

"What did you want to ask?"

"I wanted to ask about your work on the Wolfsbane and the cure you're working on?"

She stopped and straightened. He expected to see distrust in her eyes, like she believed he wanted to steal her research but she merely looked curious.

"Remus is my Godfather." He said by way of explanation.

Her confusion cleared and she went back to enthusiastically packing up her potions.

"Ah I take it he must have told you a little bit about what he's doing."

He laughed. "Not as much as you might think. I just realised I didn't really know how much he was doing or how much the two of you would've accomplished. I just want to know what he's killing himself over."

She smiled again, she did it a lot but this time it was in understanding rather than in mischievousness.

"First of all dear, he certainly isn't killing himself. I wouldn't allow it, Remus is a very good friend of mine. We look after each other. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for great discoveries. Have you ever seen him transform?"

He nodded. The vivid memory from his third year was one of the main reasons he was here asking these questions.

"Was that with or without Wolfsbane?"

"He hadn't taken it that night but he'd taken it all the others he was supposed to." Harry said immediately, everything about that night ingrained on his mind.

She nodded to herself, muttering. "In a six part solution, he'd have gotten... three and a half full measures. Ok." She turned her attention back to him. "You saw him when he had approximately three and a half full measures of the pain suppressant in his system. Usually after a dosing he would have four full measures spread over the seven doses so as to not create too much of a build up in his system. So what you saw that night was a very watered down transformation. He felt more pain than he would normally if he'd taken his full dose of Wolfsbane but he didn't feel anywhere near the level of pain he would if he hadn't taken the other six parts of his dose."

She stated it all so crisp and clear, efficiently rolling off the facts of the matter. It was a side of her he hadn't seen in any of their lessons so far, suddenly she became very professional. He realised what she was telling him, that horrific part of Remus' life that he'd witnessed was nothing compared to the full thing. He couldn't imagine the amount of pain Remus must have felt before the Wolfsbane. He suddenly understood what Remus had meant in his letter. When he said he'd do it all again, for himself and everyone else out there who had and would be infected. Harry now understood his conviction.

"How much do you know about Lycanthropy Harry?" she asked after he'd remained quiet for a few minutes.

"Not much." He admitted. "Only what they've told us in lessons at Hogwarts."

"Not much at all then." She muttered. "Lycanthropy unlike Vampirism is a disease. Vampires are born as they are, as are Demons. But Werewolves are made. It began simply, a witch or wizard, who knows which particular one was bitten by a wolf and happened to have a particularly weak immune system. Whether it was just naturally weak or it had become weak through illness who knows. Either way the wolf's saliva somehow managed to merge with the Witch/Wizards magic. The immune system which would normally have stopped this was overpowered. Somehow the wolf's DNA managed to combine oddly with the persons, the traits of the wolf managed to latch onto the human genes and couldn't be dislodged. Being an alien gene it never has full control of the body, only able to take over and control its vessel under the influence of the full moon. Wolves have always been associated with the Lunar cycle, if we can ever figure out why we might be able to do something about the disease. What was I saying, I was rambling again... Well as this person began to recover and their immune system recovered their magic began trying to force out the alien genes. But as the wolf's genes had merged with the body this was no longer possible. The wolf gene had the strength of the body that contained it and although the magic fought against the intrusion it couldn't very well destroy the vessel that housed them both. So finally exhausted from the battle and with the added influence of the full moon the wolf genes took over the body and transformed the person from human to a blend of both, the werewolf. The wolf of course feeling threatened by the human elements surrounding it, would then attack any human it came into contact with."

"So the werewolf bit someone and passed it on." Harry surmised.

She looked delighted that he'd managed to catch on so fast. He felt a bit annoyed, he wasn't that stupid.

"Yes but this time instead of just passing the gene on and starting the whole process again, we believe that the persons magic attempts to expel the intruder by turning it into a virus that it can fight and pass on to others. But unlike normal virus' Lycanthropy cannot be defeated by the fighting of the body."

"So magic changed this gene into a disease and passed it on to try and get it away from its own Witch or Wizard."

"Exactly. This is all theory of course but this is the most widely accepted one. And I can see it happening. Our magic performs without our direction when we are children so why shouldn't it do so of its own accord when it feels the need. So anyway the person who gets bitten doesn't just get the gene latching onto them and having it grow stronger over the next month, no they get it given to them at the full strength. As a virus it gets into the bloodstream easily and merges before the magic can even attempt to fight it off."

"So it wouldn't matter if this person had an amazingly strong immune system to prevent the wolf DNA from latching onto their magic, as a virus it just slips in and then it's too late." Harry stated.

"Yep."

"Makes sense I suppose. And because it's a magically mutated virus it also affects Muggles, who have magic but just can't access it. But then why do all Werewolves look pale and sickly if it's now part of them?"

"The first person had the wolf's traits merge with their DNA, it was a part of them even though it did slip the human leash and come out once a month. But the ones bitten after are living with an internal war."

"Internal war?"

"Yes, the virus is waging a war on the body, trying to gain full control over it, turn it either completely to wolf or make it werewolf for the majority of time. But the immune system and the magic of the body are also fighting the virus, trying to eradicate it. The immune system is constantly making new antibodies, which don't work. And the magic is acting on its own to eradicate it. So not only is the person having this internal war, they are also suffering magic depletion and are being hit with other more common diseases which the immune system often waits to combat, trying to get rid of what it sees as the bigger threat first. The person gets more and more rundown as the weeks pass. Then there is the full moon and afterwards the virus seems content for a while and retreats. Allowing the magic and immune system a respite. Long enough to fix any major problems and begin to regenerate. Then the virus comes back and the fighting starts all over again."

Harry was in shock. "And that's what it's like for Remus each month?"

"It's a never ending cycle Harry. It will kill him eventually. As he ages the battle takes more toll on his body, one day it will be too much for him and he'll die. I've studied werewolves for a long time, trying to find this cure so I know a lot about them. My estimation is that Remus has about ten to fifteen years left. He won't make sixty at any rate. And that's why he pushes himself hard," She snarled. "that's why he lets me test the potion on him and that's why he works on his spells. Every person that gets bitten is given a death sentence, it just takes a long time for it to be enacted but it cuts a Witch or Wizard's life in half and it isn't fair!"

There was silence after her outburst. Harry trying to absorb all the information she'd given him and Mir trying to get her breathing under control.

"He's my friend Harry. Silay's my friend too. Do you think I do this to myself for the fun of it!" she said, gesturing down at her emaciated form. "I can assure you I don't."

"Why does Silay look better than Remus?" he asked timidly.

She sighed and patted him on the shoulder before turning back to the shelves. "Silay, although he has offered cannot be a test subject of mine. His heart is too weak to make the testing possible. It's a genetic problem that his magic can't fix. So he helps me in other ways. He gathers the ingredients I need when I'm too weak to go out and other stuff like that. Silay looks less ill than Remus because he doesn't test the potions or the spells and uses the already developed form of Wolfsbane every month. Another thing that helps is that there are other werewolves here, it gives the wolf the feeling that there is a pack around it, it feels safer and doesn't fight as hard. Another reason is that he wears a glamour."

"He wears a glamour?" Harry asked confused. Silay didn't seem the type to be strung up about his appearance. After all his brother looked worse and that greasy git didn't even wear a glamour.

She laughed. "Yes, he got sick of students seeing him as weak. No matter how many of them he knocked on their arses, new ones just kept coming. Trying to catch him out with pranks, some cocky little shits even challenged him to duels. He got sick of not getting any respect and putting teenagers in the hospital so he started using the glamour. And no one's challenged him since." She concluded brightly.

Harry smirked; he could just see his mentor being pestered by idiotic students.

"Any more questions Harry?"

He thought for a moment, trying to see if there was anything he didn't understand.

"Yeah, there is. What can I do to help?"

0000

Break was over by the time he got out of the infirmary but luckily his Natural Magic teacher was also late, the class were just milling around when he reached them. Spotting Neville, Chrysan and Melaisa talking a little ways off, Harry began making his way to them. After a few minutes of twisting and turning he bumped into someone, making an apology he attempted to move on but someone grabbed the back of his robes and he was roughly dragged back.

"You idiot!" a voice yelled. "You made me lose it."

Turning around Harry found himself face to face with a perfectly ordinary boy, not the werewolf or vampire he'd expected. Unfortunately this wasn't only a Wizard either. This guy was an elemental like Melaisa.

He had blonde hair, the tips of which he'd dyed red. Idiot, advertising what he was. Judging by the hair colour Harry guessed that this guy was of the fire variety.

"Lose what?" Harry snapped back.

"My flame idiot."

Harry didn't know why but he really didn't like this guy.

"Oh, what can't get it up more than once?"

The effect of his words was instantaneous; the people around them who had silently been listening in took a step back. The boy who still had a hold of his robes stiffened and pulled him in even closer.

"Listen Potter, you may think you're some sort of big shot but we've all seen you in duelling class. You're weak, bloody Dumbledore must fight all your battles for you. Well listen freak, you don't want to fight me."

It was probably the word 'freak', he'd always hated that word, either way Harry had his wand in his hand before he could blink.

While the fast movement made the other students blink, it certainly gained no reaction from the elemental. Other than for him to draw his own wand of course.

"You really wanna fight me?"

Harry just nodded. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his own friends appear at his back, they had their own wands drawn and were keeping them pointed on the boy's friends, three on three nice and even.

Around them whispers had broken out as students started taking bets on the outcome. Despite all the other voices Harry only heard one, he didn't know why but it actually gave him confidence.

"One hundred Galleons on Potter." Said a bored drawling voice.

"Are you sure Malfoy?" Someone else asked. "He doesn't look like much."

Harry could hear the smirk in Malfoy's voice. "You don't know Potter like I do. No one knows you better than your rival."

Despite himself Harry smiled.

"What you smiling about? You ain't gonna to be smiling in a minute."

"What's your name?" Harry asked.

"Why gonna try and talk me out of it?"

"No I just want to know what idiot it is whose arse I'm going to kick."

He scoffed. "Mike."

"Mike, I like it, nice and simple. At least you don't go about calling yourself Lord all the time, it gets annoying when someone starts threatening you in the third person you know."

Mike was staring at him as though he'd grown an extra head.

"Do you still want to duel with me Mike?"

Harry could see the awareness suddenly spring up in his eyes. Had he even thought on what he was doing or did he just let his temper take over?

Not wanting to show how scared he suddenly felt, Mike attacked.

His shouted "stupefy" was easy enough for Harry to dodge. He danced out of the way, absently noticing the other students backing up. That spell had been exceedingly low level, it hadn't even hit one of the people that surrounded them, dissipating before it came anywhere near them.

He shot off one of his own and was happy to note that about four people went down from the blast. Unfortunately not the one he wanted to hit as he just managed to dive to the floor and out of the way. He was on the floor now looking up at Harry, the shock plain on his face.

"You know the problem with duelling lessons are that they teach you only one way of moving and sometimes the body just has to move in its own way. I'm not even going to bother knocking you out, it's a big waste of my time. If you want to challenge me again, work harder on your spell work. Oh and you might want to pay a bit more attention in this class. You're going to need a lot more power to back up that big mouth of yours."

Leaving the gobsmacked boy behind him Harry headed back over to his friends.

"Potter wait?"

Looking back Harry found the boy still staring at him, not taking any notice of the friends who were pulling him to his feet.

"How did you make that spell that strong? Did you take any magic?"

Harry snorted. "Do you mean, did I use the techniques we've been taught in natural magic to make myself more powerful?" Seeing him nod, he answered honestly. "No I didn't. I don't need to use it against you."

"How do we know that? You could still be weak, just a cheater as well." That was said by one of Mike's idiotic friends.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Alright, if this will save me being bothered by you idiots."

He motioned with his hand, his friends jumped out of the way immediately, the people behind them took a little longer but still did it.

Harry closed his eyes and focusing in on himself began to draw the magic out of the things around him. The reason why the lesson was held out here was that there was a lot of magical energy to spare. He didn't take too much, just enough to get his point across.

Seeing a rather large rock about ten, fifteen metres away Harry aimed his wand.

"STUPEFY"

The spell hit the rock with a sound like the clap of thunder. The rock flew through the air, landing an immeasurable distance away before shattering upon impact.

Hearing nothing but silence behind him, Harry repaired the rock with a quick "Reparo" and levitated it back into place.

"How...?"

Harry smirked. "Fights and battles aren't about grades. It doesn't matter if you get congratulated by the teacher for learning his methods or knocked down because you do something different. Just because you can't do what everyone expects of you doesn't mean you can't do it your own way. Remember that and if you ever have another duel you might actually survive it."

Harry walked off, deciding not to wait for the teacher.

"Harry, Harry wait up!"

Hearing that voice Harry stopped. A moment later Melaisa had run into his arms and was hugging the life out of him.

"That was brilliant Harry, but please don't get in a fight again. Please."

He laughed. "I'll try not to but I can't promise you anything."

"You showed him Harry. And I think Malfoy might like you a little more now, I don't want to think about how much money he must have made there."

"He doesn't need the money Nev, it'll be more important to him that he won. Malfoy's don't lose after all."

"Unless they're against you, eh Harry." Chrysan said. The lilac eyed teen seemed a bit shell shocked. His ice blue skin was lightly flushed, the slightest bit of pink within the blue made Harry think of the Aurora Borealis. Their teacher had shown them images of the Northern Lights last lesson, apparently that's what a high concentration of magic looked like.

"You alright Chrys?" Harry asked, concerned.

"Er yeh, do you know how hot you look when you take charge like that?"

Harry couldn't help it, he started laughing.

"What? I was serious!"

That just made Harry laugh all the harder. Suddenly he was tackled to the floor.

Looking up he found a very amused Demon sitting on his stomach.

"What's so funny about you looking hot when you get all leadery?"

"Is that even a word?" Harry asked, a little breathless, there was a half naked man in a loincloth sat very close to something that he certainly didn't want to draw attention to.

Chrysan just arched one perfectly sculpted blonde eyebrow. Very sexy.

"I'm not attractive." He mumbled, embarrassed.

Chrysan chuckled. "You are my friend, you are." He suddenly turned very serious, regarding Harry with a slight tilt of the head.

"As much as I hate to break this up-"

With a glance to the left and a yelp Harry jumped up, knocking the Demon to the floor. Chrysan continued to lay there for a moment looking very dazed as Harry tried to straighten his robes and get the blush out of his cheeks.

Once he thought he'd succeeded he turned back to his silently laughing teacher. She controlled herself and smiled, beckoning him forward. Glaring, Harry realised his other friends were making no such effort.

"You three..." Professor Steele said, regaining her professional demeanour and pointing to them each in turn. "Back to class. Mr. Potter stay here."

Once they were all out of earshot she began speaking.

"That was an impressive display Mr. Potter. You've learnt control very well. Now get out of here, I have a class to teach."

Harry was struck dumb, by the abrupt dismissal. Was he being kicked out of the class?

"Huh?"

"You don't need this class anymore Harry, you've just shown you can gather up magic as well as anybody twice your age. So go, find something else to do in place of this class, or take the hour off, whatever you want. You don't need to come back next week either. Nothing left to teach you boy, now get going."

Dumbly, Harry left.

Well, after his monthly meeting with Silay he better go and see if he could get a meeting with Calfora. She'd said she wanted to see him after he finished Natural Magic, or maybe she meant go straight away? He'd go along now. For some reason he was afraid of keeping her waiting if she was expecting him. She was after all a Seer and she'd said come straight there. Sighing Harry headed back into the school.


End file.
